The game on Wednesday night is important for West Ham in a lot of ways. First of all, the Hammers have lost their previous three games and are currently on a four-game winless streak in all competitions. Most recently, they were defeated 1-0 at home by Everton. Second, losing to Arsenal, a formidable London rival, is never pleasant. Thirdly, of course, they’ll want to prove to Declan Rice, the former captain, that things aren’t always better on the other side.
Arsenal, meanwhile, has won all 12 of its home games so far this season and, like the previous year, appears to be a legitimate title contender
Mikel Arteta, the manager of the Gunners, would surely want to add the EFL Cup to his FA Cup and two Community Shield victories, maybe using further hardware as a springboard to an era of consistent success for Arsenal that has long been deserved.
With three quarterfinal appearances in the last eight seasons, West Ham has had inconsistent results in the EFL Cup recently. Their 1980–81 season final performance against Liverpool stands as their best ever. In the third round of this season’s EFL Cup, Tomas Soucek’s goal in the 70th minute gave the Hammers the advantage against League One team Lincoln City, although they had to work hard to win.
Arsenal, on the other hand, hasn’t won the EFL Cup in thirty years despite a few title losses, most famously to Birmingham City in 2011. After making it to the semifinals the year before, Mikel Arteta’s team was ousted in the third round of the previous tournament. Arsenal will be playing its second London derby in the EFL Cup this season after eliminating Brentford with a 1-0 victory in the third round.
The data that informs our forecasts for West Ham vs. Arsenal:
In four of West Ham’s previous six home games, both teams have scored.
Four of the last six home games for West Ham have seen them start the scoring.
Over 1.5 goals have been given up by Arsenal in their previous two domestic away games.
Arsenal vs. West Ham head-to-head statistics
West Ham 2-2 on April 16, 2023 The Premier League’s Arsenal
December 26, 2022: Arsenal defeats The Premier League’s West Ham
2022 May 1 – West Ham 1–2. The Premier League’s Arsenal
December 15, 2021: Arsenal defeats The Premier League’s West Ham
21 March 2021 — 3-3 for West Ham The Premier League’s Arsenal
In their last eight encounters with West Ham, Arsenal has gone undefeated (6 victories, 2 draws). In actuality, the Hammers have only triumphed once in their previous 16 games against the Gunners (11 loses and 4 draws).
