Gunners chasing 114-year old history

If Arsenal win they will erase the record of 14 successive league wins, first achieved by Manchester United in the old Second Division in 1904-05.

Bristol City equalled the record in the same division in 1905-06 and only Preston North End, also in the old Second Division in 1950-51, have since won 14 straight league games.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said last week that he believed his side was now strong enough to win every match this season — and while that claim may be a little fanciful, they should have too much strength for West Ham.

Arsenal, who also won the FA Cup last season, have opened their campaign with a 1-0 win over Liverpool in the Community Shield and a 2-0 win over Birmingham City in their first league match at Highbury last Sunday. In contrast, the Hammers crashed 4-0 in their opening match at Newcastle United on Monday and look ill-equipped to stop Wenger’s men taking yet another three points on their travels.

For Arsenal have not only won 14 straight matches, they have also won eight successive league games away from home — and the short trip from North to East London on Saturday should not tax them unduly. However, Wenger said on Thursday that Sylvain Wiltord, Dennis Bergkamp and Gilberto Silva could all miss Saturday’s game because of injury.

Wiltord is the biggest doubt after an ankle injury forced him out of France’s 1-1 draw against Tunisia on Wednesday. Bergkamp was substituted as a precaution against Birmingham on Sunday after feeling some tightness in his calf, and he has yet to recover.

Gilberto Silva emerged fit and well from Brazil’s 1-0 home defeat to Paraguay on Wednesday, but he is not expected back in London until Friday morning.

Wenger said: “We could miss a maximum of three players from the last game against Birmingham.

“At the moment, I would say that Dennis has a 60 per cent chance of playing but Sylvain only has a 20 per cent chance.

“He has a bad ankle, and that’s why we took him off against Birmingham. He looks unlikely to play on Saturday.”

Wenger could give a rare first-team place to young Frenchman Jeremie Aliadiere, who came on against Birmingham, or Graham Barrett who was a late substitute for Ireland against Finland on Wednesday and scored on his international debut. West Ham will need to show more resilience versus Arsenal than they did against Newcastle United when they collapsed after going behind.

They held Newcastle until the 61st minute when Lomano Lua Lua scored but lost all their discipline as Lua Lua, Alan Shearer and Nolberto Solano added three more in a 16-minute spell late in the game. West Ham manager Glenn Roeder will be hoping to have striker Frederic Kanoute back after the Frenchman injured his neck in training last week and is encouraged that Paolo di Canio is close to full fitness again. But what Roeder wants most is a vastly improved performance and West Ham’s first points of the season. (Reuters)