Arsenal vs West Ham live: Watch April 15, 2014 4th-place race match

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A victory on Saturday will have lifted Arsenal's confidence. They now host West Ham, in a must win fixture for the Gunners, but Sam Allardyce's squad will not make it easy on the hosts.

Preview: After FA Cup victory, Arsenal now focus on a top four finish

Arsenal will host West Ham, after a long a grueling match at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. The Gunners came away with a shoot-out victory over Wigan, which helped them book their spot in the FA Cup final.

They now turn their attention to the Premier League, where they are once again in a battle for a top four spot.

Everton have a two point lead on the Gunners, but a victory over West Ham could put Arsene Wenger’s squad back into a Champions League spot. The Toffees will host Crystal Palace on Wednesday, so Arsenal will want to put pressure on Roberto Martinez’s men heading into that match.

Saturday’s match will have taken a toll on some of Wenger’s players, but given the importance of three points, he will try to rotate as little as possible.

Mathieu Flamini is still suspended, and after Aaron Ramsey made his return to the starting lineup, it is possible that Kim Kallstrom could earn his first start for the Gunners. The Swede came on in stoppage time on Saturday, and scored one of Arsenal’s four spot kicks to send them through to the final.

Arsene Wenger has called on his players to build off the FA Cup victory, as they enter a stretch of must win fixtures.

“When you are in a semi-final and you win, it releases a little bit of pressure on the team on that front, but we want to bounce back in the Premier League,” Arsene Wenger said in his press conference on Monday.

West Ham will be up against an Arsenal side that have plenty of wind in their sail after Saturday. The Hammers do not have a very good track record away to the Gunners, but Sam Allardyce will not be too concerned with that.

The Hammers are seven points clear of the relegation zone, but Big Sam does not want his players to be over confident that they are safe.

“The results some of the teams below us pulled off, some surprisingly, means we are not mathematically safe,” he said.

“If they then get back-to-back wins you have to look down and say we’re not quite there yet. We’ve got five very tough games to go, we’ve got to try to pick up as many points as we can,” he added.
From their last 12 visits to the Emirates, West Ham have been defeated on nine occasions, while drawing twice and winning just once. They have also been outscored 23 to 7, with seven cleansheets along the way for the hosts.

Away from home, West Ham have not been all that impressive. They have conceded 30 goals in their previous 15 away fixtures, while only scoring 15. This is a side that can give up goals in bunches, and they will have to be mentally prepared for an Arsenal side that will have to play with urgency from the beginning of the match.