Arsenal head across London to face West Ham United on Sunday aiming to keep their Premier League title bid firmly on track.
The Gunners’ thrilling 3-1 victory over table-topping Liverpool last weekend moved them to within two points of the summit with 15 games remaining.
Manchester City’s 3-1 win at Brentford on Monday evening help them climb into second place in the standings, level on points with Mikel Arteta’s side.
While the reigning champions have a game in hand on their title rivals, the race is too close to call given there is still more than a third of the season remaining.
Fans who love to watch live football on TV will undoubtedly have Arsenal’s game at West Ham high on the list of matches they choose to watch this weekend.
While the Gunners are favourites to pick up three points at the London Stadium, it would be foolish to think the result is a foregone conclusion.
The Hammers upset the odds against Arsenal in the reverse fixture in December, with goals by Tomas Soucek and Konstantinos Mavropanos securing a 2-0 victory.
Arsenal followed up that result with a 2-1 defeat at Fulham, but have subsequently bounced back into the title race by winning three consecutive matches.
Their most recent victory over Liverpool was thoroughly deserved, although they were helped in no small part by the visitors’ dismal defensive display.
Virgil van Dijk was particularly culpable, with his performance leaving many Liverpool fans wondered what has happened to the so-called ‘best defender in the world’.
Liverpool’s midfield was also outclassed – perhaps surprisingly given that Arteta had restored Jorginho to the starting XI for the first time since November.
However, the Italian international ran the show from the middle of the park, giving Arsenal’s attacking players the platform to put Liverpool to the sword.
Declan Rice also looked a little more effective in with Jorginho in the team, although he was undoubtedly overshadowed by the former Chelsea star.
It will be intriguing to see if Arteta sticks with Jorginho for the trip to West Ham given their current midfield options are pretty strong.
Rice was unable to stamp his authority on proceedings in their first meeting this season, but may fare better if Jorginho continues alongside him.
West Ham have gone off the boil since winning at the Emirates Stadium, picking up just three points from their next four league outings.
They were defeated 3-0 at Manchester United on Sunday, although they had enough chances to have taken something from that game.
Despite their recent run of results, West Ham are dangerous opponents and Arsenal will need to be at their best to keep their title bid on track.
With a fairly favourably run of fixtures to come, the Gunners have an excellent chance of keeping themselves in the running over the next few weeks.
Games against Burnley (A), Newcastle United (H), Sheffield United (A), Brentford (H) and Chelsea (A) should yield a healthy points return for Arteta’s side.
It is not beyond the realms of possibility for Arsenal to pick up 18 points from their next six matches, which would set them up nicely for their trip to Man City on March 31.
Having put a sticky spell behind them, the onus is on the Gunners to keep that momentum going in the run-up to that blockbuster clash at the Etihad Stadium.
With that in mind, Arsenal are a good bet to win at West Ham this weekend and keep the pressure on their title rivals.