Arsenal and West Ham both exited the League Cup on Wednesday night, but both teams will now be firmly focussed on trying to get back to winning ways in the Premier League.
West Ham have really struggled this season, but they always play well against Arsenal and their most recent league game saw them earn a draw at Old Trafford, a more than respectable result.
Arsenal need all three points too though, with the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea in brilliant form at the moment, the Gunners must ensure they remain within touching distance of their title rivals.
Goalkeeper: Petr Cech
Is goes without saying?
Defence: Rob Holding, Skhodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal
This is a bit of an ‘out there’ suggestion, but I certainly think Holding should be given a chance to start at right back. The young Englishman has looked good and composed whenever he has put on an Arsenal shirt, I think he would be a better option than Carl Jenkinson at right back. You might think Holding is naturally a centre back, and he is, but he’s also a good option at right back and he played well there a handful of times at previous club Bolton. The central defenders pick themselves, and I expect the left-back battle to continue with Monreal, the fresher of the two, likely to start against West Ham.
Midfield: Francis Coquelin, Granit Xhaka; Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Chamberlain looks likely to start this game after he was only named as a substitute against Southampton in the Cup. He looks set to battle with Iwobi and Lucas Perez for a place on that left wing, and with the competition high he needs to perform. With Cazorla out in the long term I would like to see Xhaka start consistently in midfield and I expect Wenger to go with Coquelin ahead of Coquelin in this London derby and away fixture – especially after Ramsey started and struggled in midweek.
Striker: Alexis Sanchez
Giroud is likely to be fit enough for the squad, but regardless, I would like to see Alexis Sanchez lead the line for this fixture as the team certainly play better when he is up front. He’s also in great form, having scored two goals against Bournemouth last week and after his rest against Southampton, he’ll be ready to make the difference again this weekend.