Premier League: Can Arsenal Survive Without Jesus?

Arsenal vs West Ham United

The Premier League is back after a fun World Cup 2022, and one of the top matches to check out during the Boxing Day bonanza is the one between Arsenal and West Ham United.

On paper, it looks like a mismatch since it’s between the league leaders and the 16^th placers. However, despite their contrasting runs of Premier League 2022 results thus far, the quality between these two sides is somewhat similar.

Although the SBOTOP pre-match betting odds are backing Arsenal, they cannot afford a banana peel against West Ham United since Manchester City and Newcastle United are hot on their heels.

With the English top-flight set to resume action, read on below for the preview of this game.

Talking Points

Who can fill in for Gabriel Jesus up front?

The Gunners suffered a huge blow to their Premier League aspirations as they lost Gabriel Jesus indefinitely due to a knee injury.

The Brazilian centre-forward has been a huge part of Arsenal’s scorching start this term, scoring five goals and dishing out five assists to help the team build a five-point lead at the top of the table before the World Cup break.

Mikel Arteta will be looking for his short-term replacement come the January transfer window. But for the meantime, he’ll rely on the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Eddie Nketiah to deliver the goals.

Saka and Martinelli are fresh from international duty for England and Brazil respectively, and Arteta might rest either one of them after lining up against Luton Town in a behind-closed-doors friendly recently, so Nketiah is poised to lead the line.

Nketiah has scored 10 goals in his last 10 starts across all competitions at the Emirates. This season, he has recorded three goals.

Captain Martin Odegaard is another one to keep an eye on if you’re West Ham United since he’s their leading scorer with six goals and two assists this term.

Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Takehiro Tomiyasu are all considered questionable to play, while William Saliba is listed as probable since he only played sparingly for Les Bleus in Qatar.

West Ham United don’t have a clean bill of health

David Moyes’ men are the underdogs against Arsenal since they are pretty much banged up.

Centre-back Kurt Zouma is set to miss out after knee surgery last month, while Aaron Cresswell (hamstring) and Maxwel Cornet (calf) are listed as doubts. They are also likely without Nayef Aguerd, who injured his thigh while playing for Morocco at the World Cup.

Up front they aren’t much lucky either, since top scorers Michail Antonio (thigh) and Gianluca Scamacca (ankle) are nursing knocks.

Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma, Manuel Lanzini will all shoulder the heavy load, while the midfield partnership between Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek is going to be crucial as well for their success.

History

After losing three consecutive games between February 2006 and April 2007, Arsenal have been utterly dominant, having lost just two of their last 28 league games versus West Ham United (W21, D5).

West Ham United have lost 11 of their last 12 league away games against Arsenal, with their only victory being a 2-0 result on the opening weekend of the 2015-16 season. They have also won just one of their last eight Boxing Day fixtures (D3, L4).

Monday marks the third time Arsenal and West Ham United meet on Boxing Day. The Gunners have won the previous two of such meetings, 1-0 in 1998 and 3-1 in 2013.

The Gunners have been unplayable at home dating back to the end of last season, having won each of their last nine league games, with six of these coming this season.

Another win here would equal their longest home winning streak from the start of a top-flight campaign. They last won seven straight at home in 1934-35, 2005-06, and 2017-18.

Betting Tip

League leaders Arsenal are unsurprisingly backed by the Premier League 2022 odds. They’re installed at 1.50 to win, whereas West Ham United are at 6.00 and chances for a draw are at 4.20 in the 1X2 market.

Arsenal have been a bogey club for West Ham United, but the latter should make it difficult for the former since they don’t have Gabriel Jesus. Overall, this is a tricky game for the Gunners, but they should have enough firepower to disarm the Hammers at home. However, this might not be a high-scoring game, so Under 3.00 @ 1.62 is a feasible alternative.

 

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