Arsenal predicted lineup vs West Ham - Premier League
Arsenal welcome West Ham to the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League on Boxing Day.
There isn't usually a great deal of affection on the pitch in any meeting between two London clubs but there is certainly a thread of respect linking the two dugouts. Mikel Arteta spent six years as an Everton player under West Ham's current coach David Moyes. Arsenal's manager admitted last year that Moyes made him a “better person” during their time on Merseyside.
Here's the lineup Arteta may deploy to get one over his former boss.
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Arsenal predicted lineup vs West Ham (4-3-3)
GK: Aaron Ramsdale - Despite cutting a wildly animated figure at times, Ramsdale insists that his emotional perspective is one of his biggest strengths. "If I was too emotionally involved with football I would have struggled to mentally carry on," he revealed during the World Cup.
RB: Ben White - Despite an early departure from England's World Cup squad, White is all but guaranteed a place in Arsenal's starting XI.
CB: Rob Holding - Unless William Saliba is ushered back into club football eight days after France's World Cup final defeat - which he admittedly didn't appear in - Holding should serve as an able deputy.
CB: Gabriel - The burly and subtly prolific centre-back nodded in the winning goal when these sides last met in May.
LB: Kieran Tierney - Given he was born on the Isle of Man, Tierney could technically have played for England (or any other home nation). Nevertheless, the Scotland international watched the World Cup from Arsenal's warm-weather training camp.
CM: Martin Odegaard - Arguably the greatest game of Odegaard's blossoming Arsenal career came against West Ham in March 2021. Then on loan from Real Madrid, it would be far from hyperbole to suggest that Odegaard inspired Arsenal's 3-3 draw after the Gunners fell three goals behind.
CM: Thomas Partey - Didn't miss a minute for Ghana at the World Cup but couldn't prevent his nation's group-stage exit.
CM: Granit Xhaka - After damaging his ACL as a 15-year-old, Xhaka admitted that he "was scared to go into tackles" initially. That very much is not the case anymore.
RW: Bukayo Saka - No English player scored more goals or had more touches in the opposition box than Saka at the World Cup, simply transferring his excellent club form to the international stage.
ST: Eddie Nketiah - In 46 starts for Arsenal across all competitions, Nketiah has scored a respectable 21 goals. Whether he can match Gabriel Jesus' devastating dynamism outside the penalty box remains to be seen.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli - After earning a call-up for Brazil's World Cup squad, Martinelli described Arsenal as his "second family".