- Sunday’s clash between West Ham United and Arsenal has permutations on both ends of the table
- A win at the London Stadium would take West Ham out of the relegation zone
- The Hammers have taken points off the Gunners in each of their last three seasons
They often say form goes out of the window on derby day. The idiom is supposed to serve as a source of motivation for the team in obvious need of a result, while simultaneously warning the other that there is no guarantee in football. For West Ham United and Arsenal, the phrase has never been more true.
The Gunners have challenged for the Premier League title in the last three seasons, and in each of them, West Ham have managed to carve out a result that has evidently played a part in derailing their London rivals’ path to the title.
Once again, Arsenal find themselves within reach of long-awaited domestic glory, but unlike the years prior, a result for West Ham is not for end-of-season reveling but imperative for potential survival. Anything other than a win and the Hammers will remain in the relegation zone with only two matches to go.
Here we look back at the three last times that West Ham shocked Arsenal in the league – and what Nuno Espírito Santo can take inspiration from.
2024/25
Last season, West Ham went to the Emirates in the early spring and snatched a narrow win that would see Arsenal miss the chance to cut Liverpool’s lead at the Premier League summit.
As we know, Liverpool would go on to win the league, and that was largely due to Arsenal’s inability to captailise. It was best seen in this encounter, where the Gunners generated 20 shots to the Irons’ five but could muster one credible chance like their visitors, who took theirs through Jarrod Bowen on the counter.
After persisting with a four-back, then-manager Graham Potter changed to a 3-5-2 formation, and he was rewarded with a determined defensive effort that would frustrate Arsenal, which was epitomised by Myles Lewis-Skelly being pickpocketed in possession before bringing down Mohammed Kudus and receiving a red card.
Santo’s change to an extra centre-back would mean entrusting one of his out-of-form options in Max Kilman or Jean-Clair Todibo. The risk and reward factor is tempting at the least. Also, Aaron Wan-Bissaka played a key role in offering West Ham a transition out-ball on the right, assisting Bowen’s goal. He hasn’t started a game since March 22 vs. Aston Villa.
2023/24
Again in 2023, West Ham were able to pull off a calculated heist at the Emirates. This time it was under David Moyes, who, despite having a relatively subpar record at the Big Six clubs’ away grounds, was able to benefit from Arsenal’s poor winter run of form at the time – losing three on the bounce.
Moyes’ men ignited that losing run with the weight of expectation prevalent across the Emirates pitch and in the crowd. Take Tomás Soucek’s opener, who is able to tap the ball into an empty net after David Raya’s attempted stoppage of the cross failed.
Former Arsenal man, Konstantinos Mavropanos, would score ten minutes after the break from a corner. The Greek defender has showing his scoring touch recently – a brace against Wolverhampton Wanderers in April – and could be the counter to the set-piece battle that Mikel Arteta’s men might rely on to break the deadlock on Sunday.
After Declan Rice brought down Emerson in the dying minutes, Saïd Benrahma would fail to convert from the spot. Although that would do little to blemish the result.
2022/23
Penalty-taking would be decisive in this fixture, though.
This infamous game would see two play a particularly key role in the reuslty, and ultimatly the title. After soaring to a two-goal lead in the opnieng ten minutes, Arsenal would be pegged back before the break as Benrahma sent Aaron Ramsdale the wrong way after Rice won the high turnover and slipped in Lucas Paquetá, who was fouled in the process.
Arsenal would get one of their own early in the second half after the referee adjudged Michail Antonio to have handled the ball. Bukayo Saka would send the resulting spot-kick wide, and West Ham would immediately go down the other end and equalise after Bowen controlled Thilo Kehrer’s long ball and volleyed past Ramsdale.
The Hammers would get the chance to take all three points, but Antonio was unable to convert his back-post header. Instead, the draw would be enough to scupper Arsenal’s title to Manchester City, and also prove vital in maintaining West Ham’s safety that season, with the then-gap extending to four points.
Notably, there are only three players from that game still playing for West Ham, yet, it was evident in Arsenal’s chances – and goals – that the Hammers were weak from the wide areas. Of course, the average age of their full-back pairing in Aaron Cresswell and Vladimír Coufal was 31.5, but it was the same inability to deal with the wide threat that saw them fall to defeat at Brentford.
If West Ham are to secure a result on Sunday against Arsenal, finding a way to apply the positives from past performances will be vital, not only on the day but also for the rest of their survival hopes.
