Kanye Arrives at Jimmy Kimmel -- I'M READY FOR THE SHOWDOWN

Kanye West just arrived to the set of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" ... where he's all set to face off with the talk show host over a segment in which JK compared him to a child.

As we previously reported, Kanye blasted Kimmel on Twitter over the segment ... in which Jimmy mocked KW for calling himself the biggest rock star on the planet.

Kanye -- clearly offended -- tweeted, "JIMMY KIMMEL PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES ... OH NO THAT MEANS YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN TOO MUCH GOOD P**** IN YOUR LIFE..."

"YOU CAN'T PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES. YOUR FACE LOOKS CRAZY ... IS THAT FUNNY? ... OR IF I HAD A KID SAY IT WOULD IT BE FUNNY???"

Kimmel laughed it off ... saying, "Finally, I'm in a rap feud. I always wanted to be in a rap feud."

Unclear if the two plan on squashing the beef once and for all on the show tonight -- but Kanye didn't exactly appear smiley and jokey on his way into the studio moments ago.

Stay tuned ...