Arsenal predicted XI v West Ham United: Granit Xhaka to miss out, Eddie Nketiah to start
West Ham United get their Premier League campaign back underway on Boxing Day with a trip to The Emirates to face table-topping Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta’s team have been impressive in the first half of the 2022/23 season having lost just one game in the league.
It promises to be a tough test for David Moyes’ men, however, the Gunners could well be set to make a few changes to the starting eleven which beat Wolves in their last Premier League fixture before the World Cup.
Arsenal will be forced into a change up front after Arteta revealed (Football London, 22 December) that Gabriel Jesus set to be out for an extended period of time. That will almost certainly see Eddie Nketiah given an opportunity to start in the central striking role.
Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka have both returned from Qatar fit and healthy, and are likely to start in the wide positions for the Gunners. There could well be a change in Arsenal’s midfield three with Fabio Viera potentially replacing Granit Xhaka. Viera replaced the Switzerland international in the Gunners’ win at Molineux and managed to register an assist.
Xhaka is coming back from the World Cup and could potentially be given a rest. Oleksandr Zinchenko is recovering from a calf issue but is expected to be fit for the clash with West Ham (The Mirror, 22 December).
The only other change could see William Saliba miss out with Rob Holding partnering Gabriel at the heart of the defence. Saliba has been representing France and has only just returned to North London.