No ifs and buts, just win….

Morning all.

Finally, we know our route to the Champions League Final, if we’re to make it of course. PSV Eindhoven is our next challenge and they’ll be difficult to overcome. Stupid thing to write though really as every opponent at this stage will be tough. A potential tie against one of the two Madrid teams is scary though, especially after the way Real tore Man City apart so easily…

The ties will take place on the 4th/5th and 11th/12th March.

Back in September 2022, Graham Potter made the decision to leave Brighton football club for a job at Chelsea. Whilst he might have bolstered his bank account, he did his managerial reputation little good. Needless to say, he couldn’t get a grip of the egos in west London which to be fair, not many managers have, and just seven months later he was sacked. After a two year break, he stepped back into management with West Ham just last month. His team have won just the once under his management, a home defeat of Fulham. Man City thumped them 4-1 at The Etihad just a few weeks ago, their only hefty defeat this year. I read they were a tad unlucky to lose 2-1 against Chelsea and were very good in their draw at Villa Park.

I’ve not seen West Ham play other than when we played them back in November, a game we won 5-2, but I’d imagine Potter has changed a few things since then.

On paper, this looks a good fixture for Mikel Arteta’s team but as we know, football isn’t played on paper and Potter has a good record against Arsenal, albeit from a few years ago when he was at Brighton. Today though, he’ll be without one of his star performers in Lucas Paqueta as he’s suffered an ankle injury in training. Vladimir Coufal, Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville are reportedly ruled out too, all with hamstring injuries and Michail Antonio is likely to miss the rest of the season.

Arsenal’s injury list hasn’t grown since last weekend’s win at Leicester and after another week of training, Ben White could make an appearance, even if it’s from the bench. Just having him back fit at this stage of the season is a big deal in my opinion.

I see an opportunity for us to keep winning and keep on our journey to the goal that we want at the end of the season, which is to win [the title]. That’s the only thing we can focus on. We have to do our job and it’s going to be a tough one tomorrow (today) against West Ham. If we do that, we’ll be looking at that game on Sunday. With 13 games to go there’s still a lot to play for.

I don’t like “ifs” in football or sport. Let’s do what we have to do, and if the “if” comes right, great, but let’s make sure that what is in our hands, we do it.

He’s right, should the ‘if’ become a reality, we have to be there to take it but until then, it’s one about taking one game at a time.

Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke, writing in the official matchday programme:

Potter likes to experiment with different formations, but he is showing some tactical restraint by using only 3-4-2-1 or 4-2-3-1. Following a disappointing showing using a back four against Brentford, I envisage a return to a three-man rearguard which will naturally slip into a back five out of possession.

There are signs of Potter’s passing style being implemented. West Ham have made over 500 passes in a Premier League match just three times in 2024/25, but two have come in their last four outings. While I would expect us to have the lion’s share of the ball, our London neighbours will be encouraged to keep it with confidence when possession changes hands.

Their gameplan is still likely to revolve around using the pace of Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus to maximum effect. Kudus completes more dribbles than anyone else in the top-flight individually, and West Ham are statistically the best dribblers in the division. Runs into the box from midfielder Tomas Soucek will also need to be monitored closely as the tall Czech has netted twice from 11 headed efforts.

Right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been largely outstanding, with just two players making more interceptions than him across the division. The ex-Manchester United man is also a great outlet for them inside the opposition half, but on the flip-side, no team has had to face more shots from fast breaks than the east Londoners (36), who have conceded five times from those situations. Navigating the early stages will also be a priority for the visitors, who have shipped 10 times inside the opening 10 minutes of games.

Just over a year ago, West Ham rocked up at The Emirates and put a massive dent in our challenge for the league title. Whilst Mikel Arteta’s players missed numerous opportunities to score, David Moyes side buried two of the three they had on target. Their first was a tad fortunate as the ball appeared to have gone out of play before Bowen set up Soucek but in any case, we really should have done better defensively. West Ham then doubled their lead from a corner which Mavropanos headed past Raya. It was one of a number of games, along with the home defeat to Aston Villa, which highlighted how much the squad was missing a ruthless goal scorer. I still believe we’d have won the title last season had we had one. I’ve a feeling I’ll be left thinking the same in May too.

Mikel Merino was the difference maker last weekend as we huffed and puffed our way through the Leicester City game. His two goals were great in different ways, the delivery for his goals from Ethan Nwaneri first and then Leandro Trossard, were perfect. Merino’s movement to get into the right place at the right time showed just how good he is at reading a game. I’d love to see him have a similar impact on today’s game too but others need to step up to the goal scoring plate too.

Catch up in the comments…