Arsenal salvaged a late draw against Southampton on Sunday and will be desperate to return to winning ways when they play West Ham in a London derby at the London Stadium on Wednesday night.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger spoke ahead of the game about the issues his side face when teams get men behind the ball and congest the midfield against his attack-minded side.
The north London side have conceded early goals in their last three Premier League matches and will need to cut out the sloppy defensive mistakes if they are to secure a Champions League spot this season.
“It has always been like that. The attack gives a problem to the defence, the defence gives an answer to the attacking problem. Then the attack finds another solution, again to get around the problem that the defence gives you. That's how football evolves.
"At the moment you would say the big teams face the problem of more density in the final third. Then we have to find a solution to get around that.”
ARSENAL INJURIES
Shkodran Mustafi has been ruled out of Wednesday's game but could be fit for the match against Newcastle at the weekend.
Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey won't feature due to a hamstring injury and Wenger remained coy over whether he will rotate players due to the short turnaround between fixtures.
"I have not made that decision completely so I will have to look first of all at how some players have recovered," said Wenger.
"We look at how much energy they spent, how they recover and after I make my decisions, adding to that the balance of the team."
Spanish midfield maestro Santi Cazorla remains a long-term absentee with an Achilles injury and recently suffered another setback in his recovery which saw him undergo surgery for the ninth time, pushing his return date even further away.
ARSENAL SUSPENSIONS
Arsenal have no players suspended for this game.
ARSENAL POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP
Wenger is likely to bring a defensive midfielder into the line-up with Ramsey ruled out through injury. Mohamed Elneny or Francis Coquelin could start alongside Granit Xhaka in central midfield.
Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac will start in the wing-back slots while Per Mertesacker's shaky performance at the back against Southampton means that Rob Holding, Mathieu Debuchy or Calum Chambers could get the nod instead.
The first-choice triumvirate of Alexis, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette will continue in attack despite Olivier Giroud again coming off the bench to score at St. Mary's.
WEST HAM TEAM NEWS
Wednesday's game will be the 42nd consecutive Premier League matchday in which David Moyes has started in charge of a team in the relegation zone - but the Hammers will go into the midweek London derby with increased morale after their impressive win over Chelsea at the weekend.
Cheikhou Kouyate could be set to return following his hamstring injury but Edimilson Fernandes is doubtful with an ankle injury. James Collins, Sam Byram and Jose Fonte remain out.
Following their 1-0 victory over Chelsea on Saturday, West Ham still find themselves in the botom three but have a game in hand over 17th placed Crystal Palace.
Andre Ayew is the club's top goalscorer this season having scored five goals.
BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS
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West Ham have won just one of their last 18 Premier League meetings with Arsenal (W1 D3 L14), with this win coming at the Emirates in August 2015.
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Against no side have Arsenal won more away Premier League games than they have against West Ham (12, same as Everton and Aston Villa).
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Indeed, the Gunners are unbeaten in their last nine top-flight away games against West Ham (W7 D2), since a 0-1 loss in November 2006.
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This will be West Ham’s 100th home London derby in the Premier League. They’ve won 36 of their previous 99 (D22 L41), including Saturday’s 1-0 victory against Chelsea.
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Arsenal have conceded 32 Premier League goals away from home in 2017. Only West Ham (35) & Stoke & Watford (33 each) have shipped more.
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Alexis Sanchez was involved in four of Arsenal’s goals in their 5-1 win in this fixture last season (three goals, one assist). Indeed, all four of his Premier League goals against the Hammers have come in away games.
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Mesut Ozil has scored in each of his last three Premier League games against West Ham, while also providing an assist in the last two.
TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME
The match is being televised on BT Sport in the UK while NBC Sports Gold will carry the match in the United States, with kickoff at 20:00 GMT (15:00 ET).
In the United States (US) , West Ham v Arsenal can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .
