West Ham 1-5 Arsenal: Premier League as it happened

That is your lot for today, but join my IBTimes UK colleague Tony Mogan for a Sunday Premier League double-header. In addition to that aforementioned clash between Bournemouth and Liverpool, Everton entertain Manchester United at Goodison Park.

Goodnight.

Life does not immediately get any easier for West Ham, meanwhile. After facing Tottenham, Manchester United (twice) and Arsenal in successive matches, next on the agenda is a tricky trip to Anfield next Sunday.

The injuries are piling up for the struggling Hammers, who have lost as many Premier League games (eight) already this term as they did throughout the entire 2015-16 campaign.

Still not acclimatising to their soulless new home, they now drop to 17th. Sunderland's third win in four matches against Leicester earlier this afternoon means the gap to the bottom three has closed to just one point.

Worrying times indeed.

So Arsenal move up to second and three points behind Chelsea after that Sanchez-inspired late romp. The Gunners, who will drop one spot if Liverpool beat Bournemouth tomorrow, have now gone 13 league matches unbeaten. They have not lost a single top-flight away match since February.

Next up for Arsene Wenger's men is a Champions League trip to St Jakob-Park in Basel on Tuesday evening. They need an unlikely favour from Bulgarian champions Ludogorets if they are to pip Paris Saint-Germain to top spot in Group A and avoid a tough last-16 draw.

Full-time

West Ham 1-5 Arsenal

Still Arsenal come forward in search of more goals but Randolph spares further embarrassment by denying Oxlade-Chamberlain and rushing out at the feet of Ramsey.

The three minutes of stoppage time are almost up.

It is absolutely raining late goals in E20 as Sanchez completes a delectable hat-trick. The former Barcelona forward looks marginally offside as he is played in by Oxlade-Chamberlain, but the flag stays down.

Sanchez then races through ahead of Reid and commits Randolph with a cheeky stepover before beating the goalkeeper with an impudent chip.

A fantastic individual display.

Goal: West Ham 1-5 Arsenal (Alexis Sanchez)

Oxlade-Chamberlain restores that three-goal cushion with a sumptuous long-range strike that nestles neatly in the bottom corner.

Goal: West Ham 1-4 Arsenal (Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain)

A consolation goal for West Ham as Carroll reacts quickest to head past Cech after Payet's free-kick clangs off the crossbar.

That's the injury-stricken striker's first of the season.

Goal: West Ham 1-3 Arsenal (Andy Carroll)

Sanchez wraps up the three points for Arsenal. The ball loops up off Reid and he shows the composure necessary to trick Ogbonna and create space to pick out the bottom corner from 20 yards.

Goal: West Ham 0-3 Arsenal (Alexis Sanchez)

Ayew is attempting to add something of a late spark for West Ham. He shows good feet in the penalty area but sends his shot straight into the legs of Koscielny.

A powerful shot on the turn from Ayew fails to test Cech and Sanchez's latest drive is deflected behind.

That second Arsenal goal has rather killed any enthusiasm for Carroll's arrival. The returning striker replaces Mark Noble.

What a fine individual effort from Sanchez, who executes a wonderful turn and accelerates past Masuaku after being picked out by Mustafi.

He then shifts the ball wide of Ogbonna before firing across Randolph and into the opposite corner from a tricky angle.

Great goal.

Goal: West Ham 0-2 Arsenal (Alexis Sanchez)

A super double save from Randolph denies Ramsey and Ozil after Oxlade-Chamberlain feeds Monreal on the overlap. Terrific goalkeeping.

Wenger's first change of the evening sees Walcott make way for Aaron Ramsey.

Arsenal slice through West Ham with an incisive counter-attack. Walcott looks to round it off with a goal-bound shot that is well blocked by Ogbonna.

Referee Craig Pawson calls play back to book Reid, no doubt frustrated with that attractive sequence of first-touch passing, for unceremoniously upending Sanchez.

Cech makes a comfortable stop from Fletcher's header and Payet runs out of room after a lovely piece of skill.

Ayew comes on on place of Fernandes. The countdown to Carroll continues...

Carroll is returning to the bench after another warm-up down the touchline, but it looks like Ayew will be sent on first.

Arsenal temporarily go down to 10 men after Gabriel is left bleeding following a clash of heads with Masuaku.

Fletcher is booked for standing on Koscielny's foot.

West Ham are beginning to show much more attacking intent now and the crowd are responding. Koscielny cuts out a pass intended for Lanzini after good work from Obiang and Payet.

Fletcher then drills a shot wide.

Reid comes close to making contact with a Payet free-kick after a confident run from Masuaku.

Fernandes then does brilliantly to snuff out the danger posed by Walcott, who shoots wide of Randolph's right-hand post.

Masuaku concedes a cheap free-kick over on the Arsenal right and Walcott ends up heading Ozil's near-post ball harmlessly over the top.

We are back underway in Stratford. No further changes as of yet from either manager.

Gabriel continues for Arsenal and Arbeloa remains West Ham's right-back despite his struggles since coming on. Carroll was warming up vigorously on his own during the interval, so we can expect his introduction shortly.

Half-time

West Ham 0-1 Arsenal

Reid picks out Masuaku with an excellent long pass and the latter's cross is deflected behind for a corner. Oxlade-Chamberlain then heads clear.

Three minutes of stoppage time signalled at the end of this first half.

Fletcher does well to shift the ball onto his left foot and stand up an inviting cross that sails over the head of Mustafi before being sent over by Pedro Obiang.

Gabriel is currently receiving extensive treatment after appearing to fall heavily on his knee. Arsenal are already without first-choice right-backs Bellerin and Debuchy, of course.

We should mention that Coquelin was cautioned a little earlier for kicking the ball away. Arbeloa, however, has been fortunate to avoid a yellow card for a poor challenge on the Frenchman.

Oxlade-Chamberlain's looped cross from the back post goes to no-one and Theo Walcott's next delivery is then safely headed back to Randolph by Masuaku.

At the other end, Payet thrashes a wild effort that should come down with snow on it. Awful.

That famous Olympic Stadium atmosphere on display once again, it seems...

Sanchez holds his run perfectly and is set scampering free through the middle by Oxlade-Chamberlain.

However, the Chilean takes a heavy touch as he attempts to round Randolph and that allows Reid to intercept. Sanchez ends up giving away a free-kick.

Sanchez tests Randolph's handling skills with a whipped low shot from distance.

Bilic really needs to get hold of his right-hand side here. Arbeloa and Fernandes are being ripped to pieces.

A couple of probing West Ham crosses fall safe and Arsenal carve out another opportunity, only for Oxlade-Chamberlain to selfishly slice a shocking effort well wide.

Just as they begin to settle, West Ham find themselves one goal behind. Ogbonna's sloppy pass forward into midfield is blocked by Coquelin and Sanchez seizes on the loose ball.

He then flicks it easily past Reid and squares for Ozil to tap home from close range.

Goal: West Ham 0-1 Arsenal (Mesut Ozil)

Signs of life from the Hammers after a sluggish opening. Dimitri Payet releases Manuel Lanzini and the Argentine playmaker is shepherded by Monreal and Koscielny before producing a shot that Petr Cech tips wide.

Had Lanzini looked up there, he would have seen Fernandes all alone in the penalty area.

This is all beginning to feel a little bit ominous for struggling, shorthanded West Ham.

Shkodran Mustafi gets up high to flick on a corner but centre-back partner Laurent Koscielny is just unable to provide the finishing touch with Sanchez lurking in behind.

Monreal is proving a real threat from left-back and West Ham's right flank is currently nowhere to be found.

After Angelo Ogbonna and Reid just about clear two low crosses from the Spaniard, Oxlade-Chamberlain also has success down that side before producing a near-post delivery that is too close to Darren Randolph.

A couple of early openings for Arsenal. Nacho Monreal gets to the byline after a flick from Alexis Sanchez, but his low cross is hacked clear.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain then excitedly overhits a pass intended for Mesut Ozil.

West Ham, as if very fashionable these days, have been playing with a back three over recent weeks.

However, that substitution forces Bilic to switch to a 4-1-4-1 system with Fernandes on the right-hand side of midfield.

West Ham's defensive injury woes continue as James Collins pulls up off the ball. He initially tries to continue but quickly goes down again.

He is in no condition to continue. Alvaro Arbeloa comes on.

After that minute's silence, we are underway. Arsenal, decked out in their gold and navy blue away strips, will kick from right to left in this first half.

A reminder that every Premier League team this weekend will don black armbands and take part in a minute's silence in memory of the 71 passengers who died when an aircraft crashed into a hillside near Medellin in Colombia on Monday night.

19 members of the Chapecoense football team died in the disaster.

It's been something of a rough week for Arsenal on the injury front, with Mathieu Debuchy ruled out for up to six weeks as a result of a hamstring injury. Santi Cazorla is also facing three further months on the sidelines as he prepares to travel to Sweden for right ankle surgery.

Olivier Giroud has failed a fitness test on a hamstring issue, although is expected to play against FC Basel in the Champions League on Tuesday. Mohamed Elneny features as a substitute as he continues to recover from the illness that forced his substitution against Southampton.

Wenger makes nine changes in total from that EFL Cup disappointment and two to the side that beat Bournemouth. Gabriel deputises for Debuchy and Francis Coquelin returns in place of Elneny.

Hector Bellerin, Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck remain sidelined.

West Ham show four changes from their Premier League meeting with Manchester United.

Cheikhou Kouyate, Antonio, Cresswell and Sakho are replaced by Winston Reid, Edimilson Fernandes, Masuaku and midweek scorer Ashley Fletcher.

Carroll, as expected, begins on the bench.

Arsenal XI: Cech, Gabriel, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Xhaka, Walcott, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanchez

Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Holding, Ramsey, Elneny, Iwobi, Lucas

West Ham XI: Randolph, Collins, Reid, Ogbonna, Fernandes, Obiang, Noble, Masuaku, Lanzini, Payet, Fletcher

Subs: Adrian, Nordtveit, Arbeloa, Feghouli, Carroll, Zaza, Ayew

The main injury news from West Ham's perspective is that Andy Carroll is ready to return after missing more than three months with a knee injury. The towering striker scored a memorable hat-trick against Arsenal in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Upton Park in April that all but ended the visitors' title hopes.

Slaven Bilic was keen to stress during Friday's pre-match press conference that Carroll, while "ready to make an impact", is not yet fit enough to contemplate a full 90 minutes.

Record signing Andre Ayew has also returned to training, although fellow forward Diafra Sakho is sidelined with a thigh issue. Sam Byram, Gokhan Tore and Reece Oxford all remain out, while the Hammers hope that top scorer Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell will return from respective groin injuries against Liverpool next weekend.

Arthur Masuaku could start today's game after missing two months with his own knee issue.

Good afternoon and welcome to IBTimes UK's live coverage of an eagerly-anticipated teatime London derby between West Ham United and Arsenal at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford. Both of these sides will be eager for victory after being dumped out of the EFL Cup at the quarter-final stage in midweek.

West Ham were thrashed 4-1 by Manchester United just three days after collecting a promising point at Old Trafford, while an under-strength Gunners side showing 10 changes from a weekend win over Bournemouth came unstuck at home to Southampton.

Join us for minute-by-minute updates from today's final Premier League contest after kick-off at 17.30 GMT. We will have all the latest team news and info before then.