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West Ham will be keen to brush aside their Europa League defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt with a victory at home to Champions League chasing Arsenal.
The Hammers hosted the Bundesliga outfit in their first European semi-final for 46 years but lost 2-1 in the first leg of tie, with the reverse fixture set to take place this coming Thursday.
Ansgar Knauff gave Frankfurt the lead inside the opening moments of the game before Michail Antonio equalised just 20 minutes later. Daichi Kamada was able to tap in the winner shortly after the break with Jarrod Bowen coming agonisingly close to scoring a superb leveller in added time, but his acrobatic effort hit the crossbar.
David Moyes’ side will now return to the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon to face Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, who are chasing a spot in this season’s Premier League top four.
Time for West Ham to set the record straight
West Ham’s Europa League run has been nothing short of superb thus far. The last time they featured in the competition was in the 16/17 campaign, where they were knocked out in the play-off rounds by Astra Giurgiu before the tournament truly began.
Their showing this season though has been a stark improvement, with the Hammers 90 minutes away from a European final. It won’t be easy for them though as they will now have to overcome their one goal deficit away from home, with Frankfurt knocking out the likes of Barcelona on their way to the semi-finals.
Moyes’ side currently sit seventh in the Premier League table, and such a finish at the end of the season would see them compete in the Conference League, the third tier of UEFA’s pyramid. However, their league form after continental action has been far from impressive.
They have only won three games out of a possible ten after a Europa League fixture this season, with wins coming against Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Aston Villa. West Ham have lost to Manchester United, Brentford twice, Manchester City and Spurs during that time too, with two draws coming against Burnley.
However while this record may not look great in the grand scheme of things all of their wins have come on home soil, which could give them an advantage on Sunday.
Their last three results in the league haven’t been kind to them though. After their 2-1 home win against relegation battlers Everton, they lost 2-0 to Brentford in west London before dropping points to Burnley at the London Stadium.
A trip to Stamford Bridge last Sunday was close to ending in a solid draw and a crucial point for the Irons, but Christian Pulisic’s 90th minute winner ensured Chelsea stole the three points right at the death.
Such results may have scuppered their quest for Europa League football once again next season, and they haven’t beaten Arsenal since the beginning of 2019 but if the aforementioned home record after European action is to be repeated this weekend, then they could make one giant step towards another campaign with continental football.
Gunners looking to end Champions League absence
Basing off their form at the beginning of the season, you would not have thought that Arsenal would be gunning for a top four spot come the latter stages of the campaign.
Opening losses to Brentford, City and Chelsea raised questions over Arteta’s capabilities of leading the team forward, as well as the near £150 million spent on new signings in the summer. However, the Gunners have worked their way up the table ever since, and are now close to a return to the Champions League for the first time since 2017.
Arsenal currently occupy the coveted fourth place spot in the table, just two points ahead of their North London rivals Spurs. They are also six points behind Chelsea, who they beat 4-2 last week.
It could be argued however, that much of their success in the league this season is down to their absence from European football. An eighth placed finish in the previous campaign means they have failed to feature in a continental competition for the first time since 1996.
They reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup but an early exit from the FA Cup means they have had more time to prepare for Premier League fixtures than those above them in the table.
Despite this, their form since February has been admirable in their quest for a top four finish. They have won eight of their last 12 games in the league and now appear to be in contention to pip Spurs to fourth. A run of three defeats to Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton was soon ended with impressive victories against Chelsea and United last week.
Arsenal are now in the driving seat as they prepare for their final five games of the season. They still have to face Spurs in the rescheduled North London derby, a game that could prove to be season defining for both sides.
However they will need to first overcome a West Ham side who will be desperate to shrug off their defeat from Thursday evening, as both clubs work towards their end of season goals.
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