West Ham have perfect chance to beat Arsenal as injury news emerges
West Ham United have the rare chance against Arsenal to make people stand up and take notice for all the right reasons.
Graham Potter takes his Hammers side to North London and the Emirates (22 February) in a bid to avenge the 5-2 hammering by the Gunners back in November.
The pressure is realistically off the Irons who can begin to build a plan into place for next season, as a silver lining from the underwhelming nature of this campaign as an anti-climax from the big-spending summer at the London Stadium.
West Ham can capitalise on Arsenal absences
West Ham have seen their defence receive both barrels in terms of criticism this season – it has been scathing at times, and more often than not has been justified.
The midfield has rarely helped – particularly in the Julen Lopetegui days, namely a reign which was eagerly anticipated by the Irons’ board but drew sceptics from the supporters and ended up lasting just 22 games.
Only the bottom four in the Premier League have so far shipped more goals than the Hammers, who were all at sea last time they faced Arsenal – not to mention the previous year when a David Moyes side rolled over for a 6-0 home defeat.
From Potter’s perspective, he will look to capitalise upon opposite number Mikel Arteta’s struggles, the primary one being his lack of a striker throughout his whole first-team squad.
Arsenal are under pressure to continue a winning league run which was extended against Leicester City when stand-in striker Mikel Merino netted a late double, with Liverpool facing Aston Villa on Wednesday in a fixture brought forward due to the Reds’ participation in the upcoming Carabao Cup final.
The Gunners’ attempts to keep pace could be thwarted by a Hammers defence with a point to prove. With Arsenal blunted for selection in attack as Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus all miss out, West Ham will fancy their chances of standing firm and nicking a clean sheet.
Should they do so, plenty will stand up and take serious notice, believing Potter has turned a corner with the squad.
Irons signings have had very mixed fortunes
With well over £100million spent in the summer transfer window by Tim Steidten – the fact he has already left the London Stadium speaks volumes – West Ham fans were brewing with excitement for the season ahead.
It was clearly one in which they were aiming to return to the European table, having tasted continental triumph under Moyes in 2023 with the Conference League success.
However, many signings failed to live up to expectation, Steidten came into question with the board with his role gradually diminishing, and Lopetegui’s communication and clarity with the squad presented a complete disconnection.
Max Kilman has been a mainstay but inconsistent, Jean-Clair Todibo has struggled with injuries and the odd calamitous performance, and then players like Guido Rodriguez have failed to inspire. Niclas Fullkrug has looked positive when he has played; the issue being he has hardly been fit to feature at all.
On the flip side, Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been integral and this is continuing into the Potter reign, while Carlos Soler has shown glimmers.
It will be interesting to see how the squad is shaped up again at the end of this season, with fixtures like Arsenal away this Saturday offering a high-profile audition.