West Ham United vs. Arsenal | Premier League | Pre Match

Hoping for a repeat of their last trip to the London Stadium, Arsenal head across the capital to take on local rivals West Ham United in Saturday's 5.30pm Premier League kickoff.

Mikel Arteta's men subjected Sporting Lisbon to a 5-1 mauling in the Champions League on Tuesday night, one day after the Irons unexpectedly triumphed 2-0 at Newcastle United.

Well and truly resurrected since international football intervened, Arsenal were projected to endure a taxing evening at the Estadio Jose Alvalade against Primeira Liga powerhouses Sporting, in spite of Ruben Amorim jumping ship to Manchester United.

However, barring a 15-minute period at the start of the second half, Arsenal enjoyed arguably their most comfortable evening of the entire season yet, as Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Magalhaes and Leandro Trossard all contributed to the Portuguese pummelling.

The demolition of Sporting - which has lifted Arsenal into the coveted top eight spots in the Champions League table - came in the aftermath of an equally convincing 3-0 Premier League success over Nottingham Forest, one that ended a four-game winless streak in the division and kept Arteta's crop just inside the top four of the standings.

The nine-point gap to Liverpool remains insurmountable for the time being, although the Gunners are now just one behind an ailing Manchester City - who must travel to Anfield on Sunday - and the time is nigh to earn their first league win on the road since the middle of September.

The visitors' affinity for capital clashes is also well-documented, as they have only suffered defeat in two of their 26 Premier League London derbies since the start of the 2022-23 campaign, and they have found the back of the net in 25 of those showdowns.

However, the one game in that sequence that Arsenal failed to score in came against none other than upcoming hosts West Ham, themselves revelling in a strong away day which could be the catalyst for a much-needed upturn in fortunes, if Julen Lopetegui is to remain in post.

The Irons' journey to St James' Park on Monday was expected to end poorly for Lopetegui and co, but strikes either side of the half-time break from Tomas Soucek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka clipped the Magpies' wings and handed West Ham their first road success since late August.

Following a week where there was another top-flight managerial casualty in the form of Steve Cooper, Lopetegui has earned another stay of execution at 14th-placed West Ham, who now boast a healthy six-point lead over Ipswich Town in the highest of the relegation places.

Rebuilding the walls of the London Stadium fortress, West Ham have taken seven points from their last nine on offer in Premier League home games - sinking Ipswich Town and Manchester United before sharing the points with Everton - and only one of their last four matches against Arsenal has ended in defeat.

However, that loss came in the most recent London Stadium showdown between the two capital counterparts, when Arsenal ran riot in a 6-0 slaughter of the Hammers in February 2024, avenging a 2-0 Emirates loss and 3-1 EFL Cup exit that same season.