Arsenal match preview

Information 

• West Ham United travel to fellow Londoners Arsenal, in their rearranged Boxing Day Barclays Premier League fixture, after industrial action put paid to the original clash.

• Sam Allardyce's side are bidding for a first win in five, having drawn two and lost two of their last four clashes in all competitions.

• The Hammers have found the going tough on the road of late, with four defeats and a draw in their last five Barclays Premier League outings away from home. They have scored just once in those five clashes and their record of five away goals all season is the fewest of any top-flight side.

• Arsenal, meanwhile, are hardly in a rich vein of form themselves, with just one point to show from their last three league fixtures. Manchester City, Swansea City and Chelsea have all enjoyed away wins at the Emirates Stadium this season.

• Arsene Wenger's side go in search of a second-successive league double over West Ham, after running out 3-1 winners at the Boleyn Ground back in October. In 2010/11, the Gunners won 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium, before recording a 3-0 success in the reverse fixture.

• West Ham United's last win over Arsenal came in the Premier League on 7 April 2007, when Bobby Zamora scored on the stroke of half-time to give the Hammers all three points as they became the first away team to win at the Emirates Stadium.

• There have been ten league meetings since then, with the Gunners emerging victorious on eight occasions and the other two ending in draws.


Last time out

Saturday 19 January 2012
Barclays Premier League
West Ham United 1-1 Queens Park Rangers
West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Tomkins, Reid, O'Brien, J.Cole, Noble, Diame, Nolan, Jarvis (Nolan 88), Chamakh (C.Cole 62)
Subs not used: Spiegel, Potts, Collison, Taylor, Diarra
Goal: J.Cole 68

Sunday 20 January 2012
Barclays Premier League
Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal
Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Diaby (Arshavin 75), Wilshere, Walcott, Cazorla, Coquelin (Ramsey 59), Giroud
Subs not used: Mannone, Koscielny, Andre Santos, Jenkinson, Frimpong
Goal: Walcott 58


Previous meetings

• West Ham United's previous encounter with Arsenal saw the Hammers fall to a 3-1 Barclays Premier League defeat at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday 6 October.

• The Hammers hit the front in the 21st minute, courtesy of Mohamed Diame's first goal for his new club. It was a lead that would last until four minutes before the interval, when Olivier Giroud converted Lukas Podolski's centre. Despite the best efforts of Kevin Nolan, who twice went close, Theo Walcott broke the offside trap to hand the visitors the advantage, before Santi Cazorla wrapped up the points in the 83rd minute.

• The teams that day were:

West Ham United: Jaaskelainen, Reid, McCartney, Collins, Demel (Tomkins 73), Nolan, Jarvis, Noble, Diame (Cole 82), Vaz Te (Taylor 64), Carroll

Arsenal: Mannone, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Jenkinson, Gibbs (Santos 56), Arteta, Ramsey, Cazorla, Podolski (Koscielny 85), Gervinho, Giroud (Walcott 61)


Background

• West Ham United have faced Arsenal 126 times in Premier League, Football League and the domestic knockout competitions. The Hammers have won 33, the Gunners have won 55 and there have been 38 draws.

• West Ham United's biggest win over Arsenal came on 7 March 1927 when a Vic Watson hat-trick helped secure a 7-0 Division One win for the Hammers at the Boleyn Ground.

• West Ham United defeated Arsenal 8-2 in the first meeting between the two clubs on Christmas Day 1915. Syd Puddefoot scored five times in the fixture, which was played in the war-time London Combination principal tournament.

• Including war-time competitions, the Hammers have met the Gunners a staggering 163 times, with West Ham United winning 48, Arsenal winning 72 and there being 43 draws.

• The third and most-recent time that West Ham United won the FA Cup was against Arsenal, with the Hammers winning 1-0 at Wembley on 10 May 1980. The 1980 final is also the last time a team outside the top-flight has won the competition.

• Five of West Ham United's first eight games against Arsenal were in the FA Cup, with just three of the encounters coming in the league.

• The Hammers have won just once in their last 11 meetings with the Gunners, but prior to this recent downturn in form they had won four in a row.

• West Ham United became the final visiting team to win at Arsenal's old Highbury home when they chalked up a 3-2 Premier League success on 1 February 2006.

• The Hammers then became the first away side to win to win at Emirates Stadium, recording a memorable 1-0 Premier League win on 7 April 2007.

• West Ham United midfielder Mohamed Diame and Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby were team-mates at the famous Clairefontaine Academy near Paris as youngsters.

• A number of West Ham United and Arsenal players have appeared together for other clubs, including Modibo Maiga and Gervinho (Le Mans), Guy Demel and Tomas Rosicky (Borussia Dortmund). However, Maiga and Gervinho are both currently on CAF Africa Cup of Nations duty.

• Former West Ham United winger Pat Holland was appointed as head coach of Arsenal's Under-18 side in the summer of 2012.

• Twenty players have made their West Ham United debuts against Arsenal. Harry Hodges was the first in a 4-1 Division One defeat at Highbury on 10 September 1923, with Wayne Bridge the most recent in a 3-0 home Barclays Premier League defeat on 15 January 2011.

• Ron Cater, Almeric Hall and Ken Bainbridge all made their Hammers' bows in a 6-0 FA Cup third-round first-leg victory over Arsenal at the Boleyn Ground on 5 January 1946. Hall scored twice and Bainbridge once.

• Ray Houghton made his one and only West Ham United appearance as a substitute in a 2-0 Division One defeat at Arsenal on 1 May 1982.

• Steve Jones made his second West Ham United 'debut' in a 2-0 Premier League defeat at Arsenal on 17 August 1996.

• The other players to have made their West Ham United debuts against Arsenal include John Morton (March 1932), Phil Woosnam (November 1958), Pat Holland (April 1969), Clyde Best (August 1969), Bobby Gould (November 1973), Danny Williamson (April 1994), Les Sealey (September 1995), Bernard Lama (March 1998), Gary Breen (August 2002), Dean Ashton (February 2006), Jack Collison (January 2008), Fabio Daprela and Anthony Edgar (both January 2010).


Last six meetings

(Premier League unless stated)

6 October 2012 West Ham United 1-3 Arsenal
15 January 2011: West Ham United 0-3 Arsenal
30 October 2010: Arsenal 1-0 West Ham United
20 March 2010: Arsenal 2-0 West Ham United
3 January 2010 West Ham United 1-2 Arsenal (FA Cup third round)
25 October 2009: West Ham United 2-2 Arsenal

Overall record v Arsenal (all competitions) W 33 D 38 L 54

Ten-year record

West Ham United

2011/12 Championship 3rd (86 points - promoted to Premier League via Play-Offs)
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points - relegated to Championship)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted to Premier League via Play-Offs)
2003/04 Division One 4th (74 points)
2002/03 Premier League 18th (42 points - relegated to Division One)

Arsenal

2011/12 Premier League 3rd (70 points)
2010/11 Premier League 4th (68 points)
2009/10 Premier League 3rd (75 points)
2008/09 Premier League 4th72 points)
2007/08 Premier League 3rd (83 points)
2006/07 Premier League 4th ¬(68 points)
2005/06 Premier League 4th (67 points)
2004/05 Premier League 2nd (83 points)
2003/04 Premier League 1st (90 points)
2002/03 Premier League 2nd (78 points)


Referee

• Wednesday's referee will be Andre Marriner.

• Marriner last took charge of a West Ham United game on 25 November 2012, as the Hammers fell to a 3-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

• Birmingham-born Marriner began refereeing in 1992, progressing through the Birmingham Amateur Football League and Southern League to become a Football League assistant referee in 2000.

• He was appointed to the Football League List of Referees in 2003 before joining the Select Group in 2005. Since then he has also been added to FIFA's International List in 2009.

• Marriner will be assisted by Mike Mullarkey and Darren Cann, while the fourth official will be Anthony Taylor.


Team news

West Ham United

• Arsenal loanee Marouane Chamakh is ineligible against his parent club, paving the way for Carlton Cole to return to the starting XI.

• Defensive duo George McCartney (knee) and James Collins (hamstring) are the club's only long-term absentees, while Andy Carroll (knee) is edging ever closer to a return.

• Modibo Maiga will definitely be missing after he travelled away to Mali for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations finals in South Africa.

Arsenal

• Lukas Podolski and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are available again after missing Sunday's defeat at Chelsea through illness.

• Midfielders Abou Diaby (thigh) and Francis Coquelin (hamstring) are both set to miss out.

• Ivory Coast forward Gervinho is away at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations finals in South Africa.


Old boys

• Guy Demel spent a season with Arsenal as a youngster, joining the Gunners as a 19-year-old in 2000. However, the right-back did not make a first-team appearance for Arsenal and joined German club Borussia Dortmund the following summer.

• Among the players who have represented both clubs are Jeremie Aliadiere, Yossi Benayoun, James Bigden, Jimmy Bloomfield, Luis Boa Morte, Liam Brady, George Burgess, Dick Curtis, Kaba Diawara, Ted Drake, Stan Earle, Bert Fletcher, Ron Greenwood, Eddie Hapgood, John Hartson, Les Henley, Fergie Hunt, James Jackson, Bernard Joy, Fred Kemp, Henri Lansbury, Tom Lee, Harry Lewis, William Linwood, Freddie Ljungberg, Roddy MacEachrane, Jimmy Marshall, David Noble, John Radford, Stewart Robson, Charles Satterthwaite, Laurie Scott, Rami Shaaban, Bill Sidley, Bob Stevenson, Davor Suker, Matthew Upson, Charlie Walker, Nigel Winterburn, Ian Wright, Richard Wright, Bobby Gould, Seve Walford, Lee Chapman, Manuel Almunia and Clive Allen.


General Information

• Ticket's for Wednesday's clash are SOLD OUT.

• The weather forecast is for a predominantly dry evening, with temperatures hovering at about freezing.