Possible squad shuffles for West Ham visit

Morning.

It’s our sixth time away in our last seven games when we visit West Ham later this afternoon. The last one went pretty well, so hopefully we can come close to that level of performance again today.

There was no real team news from Mikel Arteta at his press conference yesterday. “Wait and see”, was his answer about Gabriel who went off against Sporting, so that’s what we’re going to have to do. If he doesn’t make it, the manager could keep Ricardo Calafiori at left-back and bring Jakub Kiwior in alongside William Saliba, or shift the Italian across and make the change at left back. It could be Kiwior, it could be Oleksandr Zinchenko, maybe even Kieran Tierney although I doubt that given how little he’s played.

After that, I wonder how he might view this game. On paper, last weekend’s game against Nottingham Forest was easier than the trip to Sporting, and he made some changes. On paper, I think West Ham away is a bit easier than Man Utd in midweek, so I’m curious if he might just shuffle his pack a little. Not a lot, just one or two changes from the game in Portugal. Which isn’t taking anything for granted, but if there’s greater use of ‘squad players’ during this hectic period where we play every three or four days consistently, that would make some sense.

Where I can’t envisage any change is with Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, whose quality and influence make them un-droppable. Or to put it another way: un-restable. Their chances of getting some ‘time off’ are entirely down to game-state. If we’re winning well in the second half, then they can be withdrawn so as not to play the full 90, but they have to start games for us. You really don’t need me to explain why.

Arteta is keen to keep the momentum going, after two very good performances, saying:

They were two big wins for us and now it’s about consistency, getting that momentum we are in and taking it even further against a really good opponent tomorrow and try to replicate the performance to win the game.

And touched on today’s opposition, saying:

They are a really physical side, really good in direct play, attacking second balls where they have to dominate the game through the ball. Or when they have the space they are a really dangerous team. Set pieces, and then individual quality they have, the front players can create in any moment any situation to cause you trouble. They are really well coached.

It’s fair to say they’ve been inconsistent this season, and defensively suspect at times, so that’s something we should really try and exploit today. Play the way we did against Sporting, and we’ll cause them all kinds of problems, particularly in central defensive areas. However, they do have players who can hurt you, they come into this one on the back of a good win over Newcastle on Monday night, and in the Premier League you can’t take anything for granted.

However, it’s a game we absolutely have to win as we chase down a Liverpool side who have been so impressive this season, and who take on a Man City who look absolutely rattled at the moment. It’s hard to that going any other way than a home win at Anfield, so it’s imperative we maintain the level and take all three points today. Fingers crossed.

Right, I’ll leave it there for now. Don’t forget the preview podcast is available right now on Patreon. Join us later for live blog coverage, plus you’ll get the match report, goal clips, reaction, player ratings and much more over on Arseblog News.

Until then.

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