DECLAN RICE will be hoping it is third time lucky when Arsenal take on West Ham today.
The Gunners have travelled to the London Stadium in the Premier League this afternoon.
Mikel Arteta and co have not enjoyed themselves when facing the Hammers this season.
David Moyes' side have won the bragging rights twice already having knocked Arsenal out of the Carabao Cup and won in the reverse league fixture.
In the cup clash, Ben White put the ball into his own net, and then Mohamed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen secured the result before Martin Odegaard fired in a late consolation.
In the Prem fixture, Tomas Soucek slammed home the opener before former Gunners defender Konstantinos Mavropanos headed in the second.
This is despite the North London outfit poaching club captain Declan RIce last summer in a £105million deal.
To make matters worse for the midfielder the loss at the Emirates in December meant that he had lost every game at the ground in which West Ham have played against Arsenal, regardless of what team he has been on.
West Ham have appeared to have spent the Rice money well having brought in the likes of Kudus, James Ward-Prowse and Kalvin Phillips (loan).
However, Rice has settled well in North London, having become a vital member of Arteta's team.
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The Gunners go into the match against West Ham looking to jump up to 1st in the Premier League table.
They are only two points off top-placed Liverpool; however, they will need results to go their way if they are to stay there.
West Ham, however, have been a recent slump which has seen them drop out of the top six.
Moyes will be hoping his team can repeat their performances from earlier in the season to stop the run of four league games without a win
Arsenal have recovered from their recent slump having picked up three wins on the bounce.
Last time out, the Gunners swept aside Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool 3-1 at the Emirates.
Before that, they won against relegation candidates Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.
West Ham, however, are without a win in six games having drawn three Premier League games and lost in the Fa Cup to Bristol City via a replay.
Last weekend, they were beaten by Manchester United at Old Trafford 3-0 after a brace from Alejandro Garnacho and a strike from Rasmus Hojlund.
In fact, the last time the Hammers finished on the winning side was against Arsenal back in December.
Arsenal have a few injury concerns on their books ahead of the match.
Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko are both being monitored for issues.
While there is positivity over Bukayo Saka after he was forced against Liverpool.
Takehiro Tomiyasu could also make his return to the team after coming back from the Asian Cup.
West Ham could be without Michail Antonio and Lucas Paqueta as they continue to recover from long-term injuries.
Alphonse Areola could also miss out after he suffered a knock to the head against Manchester United.
Gabriel Martinelli has been in great form recently for Arsenal.
The Brazilian has scored three goals in his last three appearances in the Premier League.
He will be looking to continue his purple patch against the Hammers, who he has already scored two goals against in eight meetings.
For the West Ham, hopes will be put at the feet of Jarrod Bowen.
Mohamed Kudus is still getting back in to the swing of things after his time at Afcon.
Bowen, however, is the club's top scorer in the league this season, with 11 in just 22 appearances.
The Englishman bagged against the Gunners in the Carabao Cup earlier this season so will have some confidence.
Arteta is keen on Arsenal to keep their momentum up in order to challenge for the title.
He said: "Winning helps and obviously the schedule we had prior to Christmas.
"The amount of players that played so many minutes, we had injuries, and we needed to recharge and now we’ve got some momentum back, three wins in a row in a really convincing way.
"The team performing really well we have to go for it.
"It’s the whole season now ahead of us, we need some players back because right now we have a few injuries - and that’s a big concern that I have, availability of the squad, if we have everybody fit and training we have a really good chance."
David Moyes wants his team to get back to the form that they showed during the Chirstmas period.
He said: "We have to try and get back into the form we were in prior to the start of the new year.
"We played really well in December and won some really big games, and now we have to do it again.
"The Premier League will always have ups and downs.
"Hopefully, with our performance [against Man United], we’ll get a bit closer to our usual form."
West Ham 1 Arsenal 3
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When asked whether he thought the coverage of his side being accused of over-celebrating was warranted at all:
No because they told me today. I didn’t know anything about it. No but I love it. I’ve seen managers at the Emirates away on their knees, personally I love it because it brings a passion to the game. When it’s done in a natural and unique way.
Mikel Arteta
West Ham are unbeaten in their last ten games at the London Stadium.
They have also beaten Arsenal twice this season, once in the Carabao Cup at home, the other at The Emirates over the festive period.
Moyes would love nothing more than to make it three wins in a season against their London rivals.
Mikel Arteta’s side have got a lot of stick this week for the over the top reaction to victory over Liverpool.
While many are split on whether it was, a little soon, to be acting like silverware had been won many Arsenal fans enjoyed the reactions.
Either way, Arsenal need consistency to stay in this title race and anything but victory against David Moyes’ side will undo all the good they did by beating The Reds.
West Ham welcome Arsenal to the London Stadium looking to continue their strong home form against Mikel Arteta’s title chasers.
Despite have to be brought off against Man Utd after colliding with Kurt Zouma, David Moyes said the move was just a precaution and Alphonse Areola will be fine for today’s game.
Lucas Paqueta and Michail Antonio will both miss the game against The Gunners though as they continue their recovery from injuries.
The Hammers are unlikely to make many, if any, changes to the team that played the Red Devils as Moyes listed many positives from their defeat.
This means that Kalvin Phillips is likely to have to make an impact from the bench as he continues his difficult start to life with The Irons.
As for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta has said that Gabriel Jesus’ latest knee problem is still persisting but is only likely to keep him out for a few more days but is unlikely to be risked today.
Bukayo Sako is expected shake off an impact injury from a kick to the ankle but Oleksandr Zinchenko is suffering from another calf injury and will not take part in this game.
Takehiro Tomiyasu is back from the Asian Cup and primed to slot at left back for the short trip to the London Stadium.
Thomas Partey, Jurrien Timber and Fabio Viera are long-term absentees for The Gunners.
After his man of the match performance against Liverpool, Jorginho is likely to partner Declan Rice in the heart of midfield with Martin Odegaard.
