Moyes Throws Down the Gauntlet as Hammers Look to Nail Gooners

West ham make the short trip across London to the Emirates for tonight's crunch Premiership clash. The Hammers will be still smarting from the disappointing draw up at Burnley at the weekend but can make up for that by beating the Gunners tonight.

That will be far from easy though as they have lost ten of their last eleven trips to the Emirates. Moreover, Arsenal seem to have found their groove under Michel Arteta and are just a point behind fourth placed West ham going into the match.

There's no return for Aaron Cresswell, with Masuaku hoping to maintain his good form at left back. Pable Fornals returns, displacing Said Benrahma, with Manny Lanzini continuing in the starting XI. 

Arsenal are close to full strength despite all the in-house Covid difficulties of recent days with the exception of Augbameyang who is dropped due to discipline issues.

David Moyes will be hoping that his attacking unit kicks back into gear with eyes on Michail Antonio who has been just 'average' in recent games. 

Rory Nostradamus is going for a 2-1 away win.

COYI!!!

West Ham United: Fabiański, Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Masuaku, Rice ©, Souček, Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals, Antonio

Subs: Areola, Ashby, Alese, Noble, Král, Vlašić, Benrahma, Okoflex, Yarmolenko

 

Arsenal: Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Tierney, Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Ødegaard, Martinelli, Lacazette ©

Subs: Okonkwa, Holding, Maitland-Niles, Tavares, Lokonga, Elneny, Pepé, Smith Rowe, Nketiah

Trouble in the Bubble as Zagreb do a 'Masuaku'!

The original ' Masuaku'

It hasn't been an ideal start for the young Hammers side against Croatian legends Dinamo Zagreb as Orsic has fired in a Masuaku-style shot from the left wing to leave the kids playing catch up!

The ball sliced off Pablo Fornals ankle and looped over the helpless Areola. 

It's early days and yes, we have Arthur available on the bench to repeat his heroics of the weekend!

COYI!

Kids For A Quid Scheme Gets Out of Hand!

 

Back when Mr Gold and Sullivan took over at West Ham they promised affordable football for all the family. Apart from budget season ticket prices, the 'kids for a quid' scheme has also helped to fill our massive new stadium. 

Tonight that scheme moves to another level as the mighty Hammers field a starting XI of kids in their Europa League phase one finale. It's a big night for our U23s as no less than five of our starters are from the academy!

Fans will get to see what we've got in defence as the complete back four are all less than 21 years old. Fans have been hearing great stories about Baptiste, Ashby and Perkins and now at the happiest club in the league they get to strut their stuff on the European stage.

Let's hope that it doesn't go all Notts Forest out there but if they get into deep water Diop, Coufal and Masuaku are on the bench while Benrahma and Lanzini are available if we need some creativity.

Whatever happens, it's a proud night for the club to be able to deliver this spectacle!

West Ham: Areola, Longelo, Alese, Baptiste, Ashby, Fornals, Kral, Noble, Vlasic, Perkins, Yarmolenko.

Subs: Martin, Randolph, Coufal, Lanzini, Benrahma, Diop, Masuaku, Swyer, Forson, Potts.

Time to bring on Gretzky?

It's all gone a bit bonkers at the Icey-had stadium as incessant snow has changed the game into an ice hockey match!

It's bordering on farcical as the ball is stopping in the depths of snow! 

None of which has bothered Moyes' men who are holding firm against Man City and can feel unlucky to be 1-0 down at the break.

You'd wonder whether this is a game suited to Coufal and Kral - the latter a veteran of Russian league footie.

The Hammers will look to keep it tight and hope to take one the the decent number of chances they are creating. 

Wayne Gretzky may not be available but surely the ref needs to find an orange ball for the second half!

COYI!

And then there were eight....Benny Buries Citeh as Hammers March on!

Wowzer! Man City came with intent fielding a strong side for tonights game at the London Stadium but a second string Hammers side stuck to their guns and held out for a 0-0 draw. The penalty shoot was coolly handled by the Hammers with Mark Noble leading the way until Said Benrahma slotted the winner. 

Special mention for Alphonse Areola who pulled off some crucial saves in the first half, as well as Issa Diop who was a rock in defence. Ben Johnson looked like a seasoned pro and in no way struggled against a tricky City attack while Arthur Masuaku raised our spirits with some typical King Arthur dribbling antics. 

Captain Mark Noble seemed to tear up as he left the field - and why not as a true legend he gave it everything and almost scored a stunner in the first half!

The draw for the quarter finals is on Saturday next at 10:30am and will be live on Sky Sports and the official Carabao Cup Twitter page. The remaining eight clubs are; Arsenal, Chelsea, Sunderland, Tottenham, Leicester City, Liverpool, Brentford and West Ham. Ties will be played on the week commencing December 20.

Final thoughts for Said Benrahma - it takes guts to step up for the final penalty and he was cool out!

COYI!!!

Gay Abandon in the Bobby Moore Stand!

We've had a hellish time over the last 18 months but during all the awfulness, the Hammers have given us reason to smile.

And there's nothing better for West ham fans than than beating Spurs to bring a massive smiley to our faces.

Enjoy the delight in the Bobby Moore stand today as fans brought us back to the Boleyn!

Happy, happy days!

COYI!!!

Player Ratings as Hammers Nail Hapless Spurs

It was all too easy for the Hammers this afternoon as a Spurs side lacking in ambition and craft were overpowered by a patient West ham performance. Mikey Antonio popped up with the winner in the 73rd minute to top off a performance in which Spurs were gifted lots of pointless possession while the Hammers had all the shots on target.

Here's our player ratings:

Fabianski : In truth he'll be shocked to have had so little to do but he made a few important first half saves look easy and finished off with a bossy catch from a hopeful Spurs punt into the Hammers box. 8/10

Johnson: 9/10. His best Hammers performance to date. Showed good decision making in defence and much more involved going forward. MoTM!

Zouma: Immense. As he said in midweek, Kane is a picnic when you train with Antonio every day! 8.5/10.

Ogbonna: So calm, really good partnership with Zouma. 7/10.

Cresswell: Superb again. When we finally got a corner he send in a beauty. Tenacious in defence. 8.5/10

Soucek: Having no luck with grabbing a goal but they will come again. Big presence in a midfield that gave Spurs no oxygen at all. 8/10.

Rice (C): He really is a big big player for us and what an engine. Leads by example. 8.5/10.

Bowen: What a nightmare to play against! Constantly pushing for a break and has developed into a clever head when he gets the ball. Not getting k ocked off the ball like he used to. 8/10.

Benrahma: Not his best day but almost got in a few times. 7/10.

Fornals: Sooo intelligent on the ball and a really buzzybee in defence. The movement and cohesion between Pablo, Jarrod and Said is a joy to watch. 8.5/10

 Antonio: He's the man! Silenced the noisy Spurs fans who suggested he couldn't lace Sir Harry's boots. Ha ha! Took his goal with calm assurance. 9/10.