West Ham vs. Arsenal: Could This Week Seal the Deal? | OneFootball

This could be three of the most important points of the Premier League season.

West Ham fighting for top-flight survival and Arsenal within touching distance of their first league title in 22 years – to say the stakes are high on Sunday afternoon would be the understatement of the century.

The Gunners will be desperate to capitalize on Manchester City dropping points in their chaotic 3-3 draw with Everton, and West Ham need to bounce back from a damaging 3-0 against Brentford if they hope to keep the pressure on 17th-placed Tottenham. 

Arsenal rising to the occasion at the right time

It has not even been three weeks since Arsenal suffered an agonising 2-1 defeat at the hands of title rivals Manchester City, which followed on from an unceremonious exit from the FA Cup courtesy of Southampton and a woeful league loss to Bournemouth. This spell of uncertainty raised questions from pundits and fans alike about their ability to hold their nerve to see out the title race. 

Sky Sports declared that “history is repeating itself”, in reference to the 2022-23 season which haunts all Arsenal fans, having sat at the top of the table for nearly 250 days only to concede the title in the final weeks of the season.

But despite the banner displayed at the Etihad at full time, there was no panic on the streets of London. To their credit, the Gunners have since shown their grit to carve out league wins against Newcastle and Fulham, as well as digging in to beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, reaching their first final in 20 years. 

The margins have been slender at times, only one goal separated them from Newcastle and Atletico, but they also put on a dominant display against Fulham thanks to imperious performances by Viktor Gyökeres and Bukayo Saka.

A Dynamic Duo

The pair, who combined for the first two goals, have struggled to find chemistry up front, in part due to Saka’s injury-interrupted season. However, inside 30 minutes they had sent Arsenal well on their way to three points. 

The Swede, whose brace against their London rivals put him into the league’s top five goalscorers this season, has now matched Alexis Sanchez’s impressive feat of scoring 20 goals across all competitions in his debut season at Emirates. 

Mikel Arteta’s side were also boosted by a stellar performance by Miles Lewis-Skelly in midfield, who read passes and pressed Fulham players effectively, which led the manager to deploy him again in midfielder against Atletico at the Emirates.

“He has made us think that when he was given the chance, he was going to respond in the manner that he has done,” Arteta said ahead of the West Ham clash. “It is not easy when you have not played that much to look that fresh, that confident, that energetic and playing with that determination.”

Can West Ham capitalize on home advantage?

West Ham manager Nuno Espírito Santo did not shy away from the damage done by the defeat to Brentford.

“It was a tough weekend for all of us. Of course it was a bad result. In the first half it was positive, we performed well and had our moments, but overall a bad weekend. It only helps us to react and bounce back.”

He added: “Being at home is good for us. Especially recently, our fans are giving us an extra run, so they’ve been really helpful. It’s always nervy in these final games of the season. There’s always anxiety in the games so it is up to us to control our nerves and deliver what we want.”

Nuno is right about their home advantage. The Hammers have built an impressive run of league performances at home, with their only loss in 2026 coming back in January to Nottingham Forest. In fact, they have only lost six of their 16 league games this calendar year, gaining 22 of their 36 points since the start of the year. There is no doubt that the fans at the London Stadium will create an electrifying atmosphere, willing their team on to take control of the relegation battle again.

As West Ham play before Spurs face Leeds on Monday night, a win would be lift them out of the relegation zone and keep the pressure on Roberto De Zerbi’s side, though a draw would see them remain in the danger zone based on goal difference. 

Scrambling for Survival

On paper, West Ham’s final games are easier than Spurs’, as after Arsenal, they face Newcastle United and Leeds, 13th and 14th respectively going into the weekend. Both teams are out of contention for European football next season but have done enough to avoid relegation, so will only be looking to end the season on a positive note – relatively low stakes in comparison to their opponents. Tottenham on the other hand, will face Chelsea and Everton, both of whom are desperately in the hunt for European football next season and could well present a taller task.

None of this will matter to Nuno ahead of Sunday’s game, as he made clear: “All the club, all the staff, the board, the players, the fans, we have our mission. It’s about Sunday and we just focus on Sunday.”

It would be a major upset for a team in the Champions League final to falter at the hurdle presented by West Ham, though the Hammers will leave everything on the pitch to take whatever points they can get to boost their survival hopes. 

In typical Arsenal fashion, it likely will not be a goal-fest but you can be sure that there will be 22 players on the pitch giving blood, sweat and tears trying to get the win. A draw just will not cut it for either side.