After suffering potentially the biggest blow yet to their hopes of Premier League glory, Arsenal bid to keep their increasingly thin chances alive when they tackle high-flying Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Wednesday.

preview

Mikel Merino's hero arc off the bench at Leicester City proved to be a false dawn for Mikel Arteta and co, as with the emergency striker starting from the first whistle on Saturday, Arsenal were repelled time and time again by a sturdy West Ham side and were punished to the maximum for their toothlessness.

In addition to their failings up front, Arsenal were uncharacteristically caught out defensively for Jarrod Bowen's crucial header in the first half, and the absence of a ruthless centre-forward in the Gunners' ranks stuck out like a sore thumb as they tried pitifully to claw their way back.

Gooners would have swapped their red scarves for sky blue ones for a couple of hours on Sunday, but with Liverpool getting the job done against holders Manchester City, the gap between first and second is now a whopping 11 points, even if the Reds have played an additional game.

Arsenal may very well have lost the Premier League title on the same weekend that they lost their unbeaten home record for the top-flight season; a penny for the thoughts of the transfer gurus who opted to stick rather than sign in January, and it is arguably now Champions League or bust for Arteta, who will be without a senior striker for the rest of the season.

If there is any crumb of comfort for Gooners to take heading into the weekend, it is the fact that their side have strung together an eight-game unbeaten run away from home in the Premier League - winning four of their last five - but the last time they lost back-to-back top-flight matches, the first defeat in that sequence also came at home to West Ham.

While there was a shortage of goalmouth action at the Emirates, St James' Park was the location for a seven-goal spectacular over the weekend, where a late fightback from Nottingham Forest could not undo the damage from an 11-minute capitulation in the first half.

Callum Hudson-Odoi's opener preceded a phenomenal quartet of Magpies strikes from Alexander Isak (2), Lewis Miley and Jacob Murphy, before Ryan Yates and Nikola Milenkovic made things incredibly interesting as they exposed Newcastle's set-piece deficiencies in the final half-hour.

However, Nuno Espirito Santo's side were ultimately condemned to their third straight away defeat in the top flight, one that leaves them just three points clear of Newcastle in fifth as question marks begin to appear over their Champions League credentials.

Home is still where the heart is for the Garibaldi, though, as their 7-0 annihilation of Brighton & Hove Albion on February 1 extended their unbeaten run at the City Ground to seven matches - six of which they have won - and not since August have the hosts failed to score on their own patch.

The Tricky Trees' attacking powers waned in a 3-0 away defeat to Arsenal back in November, though, and that comprehensive win for the Gunners marked their third straight victory in this head-to-head; a fourth is surely a must lest their title hopes crash and burn entirely, if they have not already.

Probable Lineups