West Ham United could face Oleksandr Zinchenko v Arsenal after injury update
Oleksandr Zinchenko is determined to face West Ham United when Arsenal visit the London Stadium on Boxing Day after injury problems.
The Hammers are enduring a very different season to their London rivals as they sit 16th in the Premier League while Mikel Arteta’s side are flying high at the top.
Ukrainian international Zinchenko has missed a lot of the season so far through injury but he could compound the misery for the Irons as he believes he can be ready to play for the restart of domestic football.
“You know, I have a little muscle tightness, but I’m nearly there, so don’t worry about this,” Zinchenko said to Sky Sports. “Obviously, I’m also working hard to get my fitness back and to be with the team as quickly as I can. It’s the worst feeling, to be fair… for every footballer to be out of the team.”
Battle
On pure footballing ability, Arsenal are a level above West Ham and the form this season only widens that gap so David Moyes will have to find another way to get a result out of the match.
The Scotsman has to try and make the game a battle, a fight, a scrap. Anything but a calm game of football where the star quality of the Gunners will eventually shine through.
It might not be the kind of football West Ham fans want but the style has to be thrown out of the window when results are absolutely paramount as they are right now.
Once the Irons are comfortably clear of the relegation zone, then Moyes can start to try the intricate attacking football that every fan wants to see their team play.
But against Arsenal with Zinchenko back in the fold, the last thing he can afford to do is try to work wonders when his squad has not got the belief or quality to do so.