Arsenal had a chance to eat into Liverpool's lead in the title race, but instead of ratcheting up the pressure, the Gunners crumbled vs. West Ham.

Arsenal’s Premier League title challenge has been dented by an unexpected 1-0 home loss to West Ham that featured a fifth red card of the season for Mikel Arteta’s team.

Arsenal can trim the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool down to just four points on Saturday as they welcome West Ham to the Emirates Stadium. Racked by injuries up front, Mikel Arteta's side had to dig deep last time out, before two late goals from auxiliary striker Mikel Merino secured them victory at Leicester.

So Mikel Merino starts after his super-sub appearance off the bench against Leicester. He replaces Raheem Sterling in attack, joining Ethan Nwaneri and Leandro Trossard. The other change sees Riccardo Calafiori replace Myles Lewis-Skelly at left back.

Arsenal's miserable afternoon was compounded when Myles Lewis-Skelly's yellow card for a foul on Mohammed Kudus was upgraded to a red, after the video assistant referee ruled that the teenager had denied the Ghanaian a clear goalscoring opportunity.

On paper, it’s a cosy fixture for the Gunners as the visitors are coming off one of their worst performances of the season in a 1-0 home loss to Brentford. Concerningly, new West Ham manager Graham Potter has lost four of his first six games and won just once.

The Arsenal vs West Ham live stream, on February 22, 2025 is a London derby with plenty riding on it — here's how to watch online and on TV from anywhere.

Arsenal face West Ham this Saturday at the Emirates in Premier League Matchday 26. Arsenal sit 2nd with 53 points, while West Ham are 16th on 27 points. Mikel Arteta's side are unbeaten in their last 15 league games,