West Ham travel to the Emirates this weekend to take on an in-form Arsenal side looking to solidify their spot in the top four of the Premier League. The Gunners stole a 2-1 win at Upton Park back in December with two quick-fire goals before half-time, but it was a game which saw West Ham yet again unrewarded for a terrific performance. We spoke with Alex Burns of Read Arsenal ahead of the game.
You recently managed to end your Old Trafford nightmare with a win in the FA Cup against United, what do you think that win will do for Arsenal’s confidence going forward?
It was an exceptional win at Old Trafford, our first win there in eight-and-a-half years and I think the so-called ‘mental block’ against Manchester United may well have disappeared. I thought we deserved to win the game and we could have scored more. Manchester United didn’t create a single clear-cut chance that I can think of, they were poor, lacklustre and lethargic and didn’t look up for it and I thought Arsenal capitalised on that.
I think that win will do fantastically well in terms of confidence, you could see by the reaction from the players at the end how much it meant to them and we know getting Wembley again will be a sensational chance to retain the FA Cup, finishing in the top four and winning the FA Cup would be a wonderful season for us.
With a critical Champions League second leg coming up in Monaco, do you think Arsenal will rest some key names this weekend?
I don’t think you’ll see any drastic changes made to the starting XI on Saturday. Wenger has mostly used the same crop of players in the last three/four games and he knows this is a big game because of how tight the race for the Champions League is, so I think Arsenal will be at full-strength.
Monaco is a big game but I don’t think we’ll go to Monte Carlo and walk away with a 3-0 win, Monaco are very good defensively and proved that at the Emirates, we always tend to do better in the second-leg. We’ll probably see one or two changes from West Ham to Monaco but no major ones.
Arsenal are currently the best placed team in that race for a top four finish, do you think they’ll have enough to hold on?
Yes I do. We still have Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United to play but two of those are at home which plays to our advantage. We have an incredible record for getting into the Champions League and despite more challengers than usual this term, I still think we have the quality to finish third.
It’s interesting you say ‘hold on’ because you really should be saying that about Manchester United, we are playing better football, we have better players and are looking like a team with good confidence. I don’t think you’ll see Southampton or Tottenham near the Champions League this season, it’ll be between Liverpool and Manchester United for fourth place.
As an Arsenal fan, would you rather the FA Cup title for a second successive year and fifth place, or a semi-final loss and a Champions League place next season?
That’s a fantastic question, it really is and it’s very tough. You have to be looking at the likeliness of that happening to be honest. We’ve got a very favourable semi-final draw and we are overwhelming favourites to get to the final already. But, if I’m being honest, I’d have to go for a semi-final loss and a Champions League place next season because the money we bring for that competition already puts us ahead of other clubs, we’ve attracted world-class players due to our Champions League status and if we have a good summer in the transfer market, I believe we can have a good season in Europe.
West Ham haven’t been particularly successful against Arsenal in recent years, but have managed to upset other top teams in the same time frame. Why do you think Arsenal are such a tough nut to crack for West Ham?
West Ham have a poor record against Arsenal, both home and away and I honestly don’t know why. Maybe like our situation we’ve probably just ended with Manchester United, a mental block. We beat the Hammers at Upton Park in December and we were lucky to win that game, but we won it.
We haven’t lost to you since that defeat in 2007 so I think tactically we out-smart you. We’ve also got better players but West Ham are a real force at home and I don’t understand why we always win, but we do and long may it continue.
Who do you think will be the key for Arsenal in this game?
I think the key for Arsenal today will be unlocking the door to get beyond the West Ham backline so I’ve got to say the pace of Alexis Sanchez and the creativity of both Mesut Özil and Santi Cazorla. Their creativity is absolutely world-class and when we beat Middlesborough in Round Five of the FA Cup, we played a very good Middlesborough side off the park, they just couldn’t deal with Cazorla and Özil together. It will be an intriguing battle to see Alex Song back at the Emirates for the first time, too.
Likewise, who do you think is the real danger for West Ham that Arsenal need to neutralise this weekend?
I think you’ve got to say Enner Valencia. He links up very well with Diafra Sakho and has also turned into something of a creative force by dropping deeper at times (as you saw with his goal against Crystal Palace), I think Koscielny and Mertesacker will deal with the threat of Cresswell’s crosses towards Diafra Sakho, so West Ham’s best chance could be on the counter-attack. Ps: God help whoever plays at right-back, Alexis Sanchez could have Jenko’s replacement on toast.
And finally, a score prediction for the game?
It will certainly be an intriguing game, Carl Jenkinson in ineligible and Alex Song returns to his former club. If Arsenal can nullify the midfield’s attacking and creative threats, it could be another 5-1 with the Gunners’ attacking foray. I’ll say Arsenal 3-1 West Ham
An Arsenal 3-1 win Alex predicts. Sounds familiar.
