David Moyes hoping West Ham can exploit Arsenal's early games jitters in London derby

Moyes and West Ham are chasing a second win against London opposition in five days
West Ham United via Getty Images
James Benge12 December 2017

West Ham boss David Moyes is aiming to prey on Arsenal’s early game weakness when the Gunners visit the London Stadium on Wednesday.

A string of defensive errors cost Arsenal two goals inside 11 minutes in a 3-1 defeat to Manchester United earlier this month and the same problems plagued the Gunners on the road at Southampton, where Charlie Austin pounced on Per Mertesacker’s mistake to strike in the early moments of a 1-1 draw.

Meanwhile West Ham struck early in Saturday’s London derby, Marko Arnautovic finding the net after only six minutes to secure a 1-0 win over Chelsea, and Moyes knows that a repeat of the weekend’s fast start will leave them well-placed against the Gunners.

“If you talk about Arsenal, they're a really good team with excellent players, but we need to find a way of getting a result,” Moyes told his pre-match press conference.

“If we can score another early goal, we'll be thrilled.”

Arsene Wenger will be without centre-back Shkodran Mustafi and Aaron Ramsey for the trip to east London, the latter a player Moyes came close to signing for Everton in 2008.

Ramsey’s absence could open the door for Jack Wilshere to make a first Premier League start for Arsenal since May 2016 and Moyes expects Wenger to name a strong side regardless of the extent to which he rotates the starting XI.

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“I really like Aaron Ramsey,” Moyes said. “I tried to sign him for Everton before he went to Arsenal and he's turned out to be a terrific player.

“Jack Wilshere is also an excellent footballer, but maybe some of his injury problems have held him back.

“I'm not an expert on Arsenal, but whoever will be play will be good players.

“Olivier Giroud scored against me last year at Sunderland. He's important for Arsenal and who knows if he'll start after he scored off the bench on Sunday? They've got good forwards and we'll have to work hard to keep them out.”

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