European Banker of the Week: West Ham United vs. Arsenal (Archive)
We have a big London derby to look forward to in the Premier League this weekend with 4th place Arsenal, making the trip across London to face off against 7th place West Ham. This is always a hard-fought contest and we expect this Sunday’s match to be no different. Here is all you need to know for your soccer picks.
West Ham United FC vs. Arsenal FC
Sunday, May 01, 2022 – 11:30 AM EDT at London Stadium
West Ham Losing Steam
West Ham started the season with so much strength and ambition, but it has seemed to whittle away in recent weeks and with just 4 points picked up from a possible 15, they have all but officially left the top 4 race.
To be fair to West Ham they are 8 points behind Arsenal and fighting on a lot more fronts than the Gunners, we think that says a lot more about this David Moyes West Ham team. West Ham is a dogged team and has only not lost by 2 or more goals on home soil in their previous 24 games.
The good news about all this is they are still one of the remaining 4 teams left in this year’s Europa League and no doubt their advancement into the semifinals has played a part in their poor Premier League form of late.
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If West Ham wins the Europa League, they will automatically get access to the Champions League, so all is not lost and they have a genuine chance of picking up their first trophy since the 1980 FA Cup, where they beat Arsenal.
At the time of writing, West Ham has yet to play their Europa League semifinal game but it has to be said they rested some key players at the weekend in their loss to Chelsea so we can assume they will all play Thursday.
Gunners Flying High
Arsenal has well and truly bounced back from their horrible three-game losing streak to claim a 4-2 win over London rivals Chelsea and then a 3-1 win over Man Utd. As impressive as the Gunners were against Chelsea, they were very underwhelming in their 3-1 win over Man Utd., it was a bizarre game.
Arsenal is just 2 points ahead of their biggest rivals Tottenham Hotspur for the final top 4 spot in the league and they will be desperate to make sure they pick up all three points on the road in this matchup.
It’s clear to see where Arsenal’s main problems lie and that’s in front of goal. Their forwards have scored just 11 goals in a combined 83 starts, albeit many of them are on the field at the same time it’s still a shocking return on goals per game. The one saving grace for the Gunners has been wingers / forwards Bukayo Saka and Emile-Smith Rowe, both players are 20 and 21 respectively, and have scored 21 goals between them.
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The Gunners have been linked with many top-class strikers in recent days including Man City’s Gabriel Jesus, although unluckily for the Gunners since they declared interest in the Brazilian, he has scored 5 goals in his previous 2 games, and funny enough, prior to them declaring interest he scored just 2 goals in 22 games.
Premier League Banker Pick
The Gunners have been strong on the road in recent games, picking up 21 points from a possible 30 from their past 10 games. West Ham has gone a little better and taken 24 from 30 in their past 10 home games.
We have to factor in that West Ham will be giving everything on Thursday night in the Europa League and this Arsenal fixture won’t mean anything to them unless they get unexpectedly beaten by 4/5 goals in the first leg because then the league is all that matters.
The Gunners should have enough about them to get a win here but it won’t be easy. West Hams's home record is amazing with just 5 losses in their previous 24 games.
Arsenal will put everything on the line to win here, they still have to play some difficult games including Leeds away, rivals Tottenham, newly flourishing Newcastle, and a desperate Everton team on the final day of the season.
Following the Premier League odds, let’s take Arsenal to win here and under 2.5 goals for plus money at one of BMR's best sportsbooks.
Score Prediction: West Ham 1 - Arsenal 2
Soccer Pick: Arsenal Win + U4.5 Goals (+110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.