Arsenal line-ups vs West Ham as Smith Rowe starts, Martinelli dropped and Zinchenko decision made

football.london's writers offer their assistance to Mikel Arteta over the Arsenal starting line-up for Thursday night's Premier League clash against West Ham United

Arsenal's penultimate fixture of 2023 is at home to West Ham United on Thursday night and Mikel Arteta will be forced into making at least one change to the side that started the draw with Liverpool last weekend.

As Kai Havertz picked up his fifth booking of the season at Anfield it means he's suspended for the London derby which in turn creates an opening in midfield. Naturally, Emile Smith Rowe and Jorginho are options to start but it could be that Leandro Trossard gets the nod in the middle of the park.

Whatever decision Arteta makes, it's important that he gets it spot on as the incentive for the Gunners to claim all three points over the Hammers - avenging last month's Carabao Cup defeat in the process - is reclaiming top spot from Liverpool in the Premier League table.

And not the first time this season, football.london's writers are on hand to help and below is who they think should start for Arsenal against West Ham.

Kaya Kaynak - Chief Arsenal Writer

It's getting to the point where there's no real debate on who starts between the sticks. I thought David Raya was great at Liverpool despite people criticising him for being beaten at his near post by Mohamed Salah.

In defence it largely picks itself once again with all the injuries. For all the criticism he received at Anfield, Oleksandr Zinchenko could be exactly the guy who's needed to break down what will be a tightly packed West Ham defence.

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In midfield Declan Rice will start at the base against his old side, while skipper Martin Odegaard is an obvious pick. With Kai Havertz out I think it's the perfect chance to give Emile Smith Rowe a return to the starting XI.

Personally, I think at the top end of the pitch it's time to take Gabriel Martinelli out of the firing line. He looks to be struggling for confidence and with West Ham offering no spaces for him to run into, now might be the time to bring Leandro Trossard in on the left. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus meanwhile are obvious picks in the other forward positions.

Kaynak's Arsenal XI vs West Ham: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Rice, Smith Rowe, Odegaard; Saka, Jesus, Trossard.

Tashan Deniran-Alleyne - Arsenal Writer

As this game comes five days after the trip to Anfield, the fixture scheduling certainly works in the Gunners' favour so while Arteta can not name an unchanged team for the fourth Premier League game in a row - because of Kai Havertz being suspended - I still expect changes to be minimal.

This means the same defensive unit from the draw with Liverpool and that's despite concerns in both full-back positions. Benjamin White must watch his step as he's four yellow cards and Oleksandr Zinchenko will have his hands full trying to contain the in-form Mohammed Kudus.

The big decision does come in midfield as Arteta has several options to replace Havertz. I would like to see Emile Smith Rowe get the nod as the 'left eight' as I do think we're approaching the 'now or never stage' with regards to the attacking midfielder once again nailing down a role in this team.

My reasoning for overlooking Leandro Trossard for a midfield role is because I think he should start on the left-hand side of Arsenal's attack - alongside Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus - instead of Gabriel Martinelli who had a poor game against Liverpool and has looked out of sorts for several weeks now.

Deniran-Alleyne's Arsenal XI vs West Ham: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Rice, Odegaard, Smith Rowe; Saka, G. Jesus, Trossard.

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