BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton has given his prediction for West Ham’s United’s Premier League trip to Arsenal on Boxing Day.
Both sides will be playing their first competitive fixture for over six weeks following a break from club football for the 2022 World Cup, and both the Gunners and David Moyes' Hammers will be desperate to take all three points for different reasons.
Arsenal are hoping to preserve their five point lead at the top of the Premier League table following their strong start to the season, while West Ham - currently 16th - are in need of a positive result to lift them further away from the bottom three.
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The Gunners will go into the Emirates Stadium clash without key striker Gabriel Jesus, with Sutton expecting the Brazilian to be a big miss for Mikel Arteta's side against the Hammers .
Sutton, who expects the game to finish 1-1, told BBC Sport : "Arsenal are five points clear at the the top of the table but we are going to find out in the next few weeks whether they really are title contenders, aren't we?
"The break probably came at the worst possible time for them, because of the form they were in, and there isn't a more significant player they could have lost to injury than Gabriel Jesus.
"People might point at his lack of goals before the World Cup but Jesus is integral to them in the way they press, and with his link-up play. He is irreplaceable, certainly from within their squad, so the seriousness of his injury will probably decide whether they try to make some signings in January.
"I feel like I have backed West Ham to be better than they have been on plenty of occasions already this season, but the one thing they should be here is tough to beat."
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