Frank McAvennie wants West Ham academy players to feature v Arsenal
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
David Moyes has quite the selection dilemma ahead of Arsenal’s visit to the London Stadium to take on West Ham on Sunday afternoon.
Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna are both out injured while Craig Dawson is suspended for the visit of the Gunners after being sent off in last week’s 1-0 defeat away at Chelsea.
That leaves Kurt Zouma as the club’s only senior centre-half available to play but he was rushed back to face Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday and risking him again tomorrow could be a dangerous decision to make.
Ex-Irons striker Frank McAvennie wants to see Moyes trust in the club’s youth system and play some of the academy players who have excelled for the Under-23s this season, comparing this situation to that of Manchester United in 1992.
“I keep saying that if these boys in the academy are good enough then they should be in,” McAvennie told West Ham Zone.
“Sometimes this is what makes players; they come in and they know they’ve got to take their chance.
“Look at Man United in 1992. There were so many injuries that half a dozen of the young lads came in because Sir Alex (Ferguson) had to bring them in.
“(David) Beckham, (Gary) Neville, (Nicky) Butt, (Ryan) Giggs and look at what happened there.”
As he did against Chelsea last week, Moyes is likely to rotate his side when Arsenal come to town to give his star players as much rest as possible before the return leg in the Europa League this coming Thursday.
They need another big performance on the continent though if they want to reach the final in Seville after Frankfurt ran out 2-1 winners in London.
In other West Ham news, Trevor Sinclair has given his verdict on the Europa League semi-final and he is still relaxed despite Thursday’s defeat.
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