Premier League: Can Gunners Shoot Down Their Away Woes?

West Ham United vs Arsenal

Arsenal have a problem, and while it has been overshadowed by their recent wins against Fulham in the Premier League and Blackpool in the FA Cup, the issue is bound to appear again when they visit London neighbours West Ham.

To put it simply, Unai Emery’s men have been playing poorly on the road. Sure, it didn’t start that way, but what matters is the present and how they are doing when playing away from home.

Arsenal need to find a solution quickly if they want to stay in the hunt for a top-four place and the Champions League spots that go with it. They are only three points behind no.4 Chelsea, but the resurgent Manchester United are right on their tail.

The Gunners cannot afford any slip-up…not now the battle at the top is heating up.

Talking Points

No Glory on the Road for Arsenal

Arsenal took 10 out of a possible 15 points in their first five away games of the season. Not bad at all for a team that ushered into a new era with a new coach and a number of new players.

However, that dominance didn’t last long and the Gunners found themselves looking outside the top four again, no thanks to a series of ugly performances on the road.

While the team has lost just once at home this year, it’s the complete opposite when they are playing far from the bright lights of the Emirates Stadium. They have only taken four victories out of 10 fixtures on the road, all of which are against teams on the bottom half of the table.

They are yet to defeat a top team, having already lost to Chelsea and Liverpool. In fact, their match against the Reds of Merseyside was embarrassing, as Jurgen Klopp’s men ran riot en route to a 5-1 drubbing.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is keen to improve Arsenal’s away record — Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang aims to lead the Gunners to a Premier League win against London rivals West Ham

Arsenal have not won an away match in the Premier League since November 2018, losing twice and drawing their last four.

Sure, the optimist will say they defeated Blackpool at Lancashire over the weekend, but hey, that’s a third-tier team and it’s in the FA Cup!

Injuries Taking Its Toll

Besides their poor performance away, Arsenal also have injuries to think of…and PLENTY OF IT!

Playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been ruled out until February with a foot issue he sustained during their Carabao Cup defeat last month. Defender Rob Holding (knee) and forward Danny Welbeck (ankle) are out for the season with separate injuries, while rising star Hector Bellerin is a major doubt as he progresses in his recovery from a calf problem.

It shouldn’t help the Gunners that regular starters Shkodran Mustafi, Mesut Ozil and Nacho Monreal are all facing a fitness race ahead of the team’s weekend visit to the London Stadium.

Team captain Laurent Koscielny is expected to return in time for the West Ham game, but there’s no doubt Emery has a lot of thinking and tinkering to do.

West Ham, Improving?

It’s easy to write off West Ham in this fixture. After their summer spending that signalled they were ready to compete, they flopped big time and lost four straight matches to start the season.

The Hammers are 10th in the standings right now, albeit with a losing record of eight wins, four draws and nine defeats. They also have a negative goal differential with 29 makes and 32 conceded.

While that’s the case, however, it’s worthy to note that Manuel Pellegrini’s side has made huge strides since their disappointing start. They have been solid offensively, scoring 20 markers in their last 11 games.

For comparison, the team scored only nine in their opening 10 league games.

West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini will be hoping to win the Premier League match against derby rival — West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini gestures to his players during a Premier League match against Southampton

It’s quite a concern for them that Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez is a doubt with a back injury, but they still have Felipe Anderson and Marko Arnautovic who have been on a tear offensively for the past few months.

History

Arsenal are aiming for the best Premier league 2019 results, and they will be looking at their recent head-to-heads with West Ham for some confidence.

The Gunners have won all but one of their last five meetings with the Hammers, including their first tie this season at Emirates which saw Emery’s charges come out as 3-1 winners.

Before that, in the 2017-18 campaign, Arsenal also nailed the Hammers with only one goal en route to a 4-1 win at home.

Here’s one disturbing fact though: Arsenal failed to win at the London Stadium in their lone visit there in 2017, playing out a 0-0 draw with the then David Moyes-managed squad.

Betting Tip

	West Ham United vs Arsenal	Correct Score Draw 1-1 @ 7.20
	January 12, 20:30 (GMT+8)

Arsenal are the stronger team, they are deeper and have a better record. With that said, it’s easy to be swayed by the Premier League 2019 odds that favour a Gunners win.

Besides, even the odds at SBOBET point to a relatively comfortable victory for the Gunners.

However, I am not really comfortable with how Arsenal are playing away from the Emirates. I think this will be a tight affair contrary to what most fans expect, and I see it ending with a draw—specifically a 1-1 stalemate.

Both teams can score, but I believe West Ham will also try to balance it and defend more.