West Ham United will be looking to build on their recent triumph over Premier League champions Chelsea when Arsenal travel to the London Stadium on Wednesday night.
After Marko Arnautovic had given David Moyes’ men an early lead in Saturday’s early kick-off, the Hammers defended manfully to preserve their single-goal advantage for the remainder of the game. It was a dogged, tenacious performance from a team who have been accused of lacking fight and spirit at times this term, while Moyes will have been delighted with the organisation and discipline his players showed. West Ham are not of trouble just yet, though, and a quick glance at the league table – the Hammers remain in the bottom three – should be enough to refocus minds ahead of the visit of Arsenal in midweek.
Olivier Giroud rescued a point for Arsenal last time out, coming off the substitutes’ bench to score a late equaliser against Southampton. It was probably less than Arsene Wenger’s men deserved after a flat all-round performance, in which they started slowly and then struggled to break down their opponents after falling behind to an early Charlie Austin strike. The result was not disastrous, however, particularly as Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool all dropped points over the weekend.
West Ham will be unable to call upon Cheikhou Kouyate (hamstring), James Collins (hamstring), Andy Carroll (knee), Sam Byram (thigh) and Jose Fonte (ankle) against the Gunners. Moyes is unlikely to change his approach too much from the weekend, with the speedy Michail Antonio set to continue up top and Arnautovic and Manuel Lanzini likely to be tasked with providing support once more. At the other end of the field, Adrian will again get the nod ahead of Joe Hart between the sticks.
There have been calls for Wenger to revert to the 4-2-3-1 formation in recent weeks, but the Frenchman will probably stick with his now-favoured 3-4-2-1 – particularly as Shkodran Mustafi could return to the XI after a thigh strain. Santi Cazorla is a long-term absentee, but there is a chance that Jack Wilshere – another midfielder who has spent long periods on the treatment table in the last few years – could be handed his first Premier League start for Arsenal since May 2016.
Although West Ham performed extremely well in their victory over Chelsea at the weekend, this will be another stiff test for Moyes’ players. Yet with a bit of luck on their side, the Hammers could add another point to their tally on Wednesday evening.
