Preview: Arsenal Women v West Ham United

We return from the international break by welcoming West Ham to Meadow Park in the Barclays Women's Super League on Sunday (5.30pm kick-off).

Morale is high after our last WSL outing, a 5-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium, and we are looking to extend a run of four wins from our last five matches in all competitions.

We have scored 18 goals on that run and now aim to push on in our desire to achieve success in the WSL, FA Cup and Champions League, beginning with this league clash against The Irons.

VISITORS IN GOOD SPIRITS

West Ham visit after putting together four wins from seven league games and moving up to eighth in the WSL table.

Rehanne Skinner's side have beaten Leicester City, Crystal Palace, Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion on that run, though all four wins have come at home.

The Irons also won at Tottenham to progress to the League Cup semi-final, where they were beaten 2-0 by Chelsea earlier this month.

PLAYER TO WATCH

French striker Viviane Asseyi is in impressive form, scoring five goals in her last eight league matches.

Asseyi joined the Irons from Bayern Munich back in 2022 and has scored 23 goals in 74 appearances for the club, including one against us in February 2024.

A seasoned international, the 31-year-old has netted 14 goals for France and will need to be kept an eye on.

LAST TIME we met

We won 2-0 in our last meeting with West Ham in October 2024, in what was Renee Slegers' first match as interim manager.

Mariona Caldontey broke the deadlock at the Chigwell Construction Stadium, scoring from the spot on 71 minutes after Stina Blackstenius was brought down inside the box.

Blackstenius then produced another assist for the second goal, her cross finished off by Rosa Kafaji to seal the win with a minute left on the clock.

OTHER NOTABLE MEETINGS

We have an excellent record against West Ham since they entered the WSL in 2018, winning 10 and losing just one of our 12 meetings.

Jill Roord's hat-trick in a 9-1 victory in September 2020 lives long in the memory, on a day when five other players were also on the scoresheet at the Chigwell Community Stadium.

Just over 12 months later, Kim Little scored a brace as we beat the Irons 4-0 at Meadow Park in November 2021.

WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY

Slegers: "Well I think they’re going to make it very hard for us, which they did in the away game as well. I think they have their identity as a team, they’re looking to find their identity and they’re coming closer and closer. 

"What they will do is close down spaces and try to threaten us in different ways and I think it’s going to be a hard game, so we have to be on top."

Skinner: "The game’s going to be tough, in terms of the players they have who can unlock things. They're in good form and I think she’s [Renee] done a fantastic job since she’s come in.

"They’re playing with freedom, creativity and they’ve been ruthless in front of goal. But on our day, in this league, you can get points from anybody, and that’s what we’ll be trying to do."

TEAM NEWS

We welcome back our international players after last week's UEFA Women's Nations League fixtures, with Slegers reporting a clean bill of health from those games. Lotte Wubben-Moy is the the only absentee.

Chloe Kelly could make her full debut for the Gunners after appearing as a substitute in the Tottenham Hotspur win before the break.

FACTS AND STATS

· Our WSL win rate against West Ham (83%) is only bettered by our track record against Brighton (86%) of teams we've played 10+ times in the competition.

· We have won each of our last four WSL home matches at by at least four goals, with only Manchester City (October 2022) putting together a longer run of wins by that margin.

· West Ham have won four of their last eight WSL matches, as many as they had managed in their previous 40.

· Since Renee Slegers became manager, we have conceded five goals in 10 WSL games, giving her the joint-best goals conceded per game rate by a manager in WSL history of those to have taken charge of three or more games.

· Chloe Kelly created four chances after coming on as a 61st-minute sub against Tottenham Hotspur last time out, the most of any Arsenal player in a 30-minute or less cameo since Katie McCabe against Bristol City in April 2021.

· No player has scored more goals than Mariona Caldentey (4) in 2025. Only three non-British players have ever scored more in their debut WSL campaign for the club.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Ade Soneye will take the whistle for Sunday's game, having presided over four WSL matches already this season. She has taken charge of four Gunners matches previously, most recently our 3-0 win over Leicester in the WSL in April 2024.

Referee: Ade Soneye

Assistant referees: Jon Ashworth-Sears, Anastasiya Voloshchuk

Fourth official: Abi Byrne

LIVE COVERAGE

Sunday's game will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Showcase. Follow live updates on our X account, and we will have a match report and all the post-match reaction live on Arsenal.com and the official app after full-time.