Three players who’ve played for both West Ham and Arsenal
West Ham will be hoping for a better performance this Sunday when they host Arsenal in the Premier League.
Both sides will be looking for all three points at the London Stadium this weekend. The Hammers must win if they’re to keep up a good challenge for Europe, whilst the Gunners have lost just once in their last five games.
Mikel Arteta’s men won their North London derby clash with Tottenham last weekend. Having gone a goal down, they showed good spirit to come back and win the game 2-1 and move closer to their rivals in the table.
West Ham will welcome back Jesse Lingard into the team. David Moyes was unable to select him against his parent club Manchester United last weekend.
In anticipation of the clash, West Ham Zone have looked back on three players who have played for both the Hammers and the Gunners.
John Hartson
The big Welshman joined the Gunners aged 19 in 1995 after three years with Luton Town. It was a deal worth £2.5million, making it a British record for a teenager at the time. He scored his first goal in a 1-0 win over Coventry in his second appearance.
Hartson scored 14 goals in 53 Arsenal games before moving to East London. He became West Ham’s record signing for £3.2million in February 1997. In his first full season with the club, Hartson was the second-highest goalscorer in the Premier League. The big man bagged 24 goals in 42 games.
Overall, Hartson scored 33 goals in 73 matches for the Hammers before moving to Wimbledon in 1999. He is fondly remembered at West Ham.
Yossi Benayoun
West Ham were the first of five English clubs that Benayoun went on to represent. He moved to Upton Park in 2005 from Racing Santander for £2.5million. He was a big hit in East London and scored eight Premier League goals in 63 appearances.
The playmaker left West Ham under a cloud. Having verbally agreeing a new four-year deal, he went back on his word and signed with Liverpool. Later on, Benayoun joined Arsenal on loan from Chelsea in 2011.
He was well suited to Arsene Wenger’s style of play, good with both feet and able to play quick, one-touch football. He scored four times for the Gunners during his loan season.
Luis Boa Morte
The Portuguese winger joined Arsenal for £1.75million from Sporting Lisbon in 1997. He was one of the first signings made by Wenger and played at Highbury for two seasons, scoring four goals in total.
Boa Morte moved to West Ham from Fulham for £5million in January 2007. In his first game he claimed two assists in a 3-1 FA Cup win over Brighton. He suffered a serious knee injury in a pre-season game in 2009. Unfortunately, he was never quite the same.
The midfielder cancelled his contract by mutual consent with the club in August 2011. He went on to play in Greece for AEL FC.
In other West Ham news, Arsenal’s left flank will post a big threat to the Hammers on Sunday.