Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has given his backing to West Ham United manager David Moyes.
It is sorcerer vs apprentice as Moyes locks horns with his trusted former captain Arteta at the Emirates on Saturday.
West Ham’s hopes of survival were boosted at the weekend when they ran out comfortable 3-1 winners over Southampton.
But a win for Watford and a draw for Bournemouth against Chelsea took the edge off West Ham’s result.
Moyes fighting to keep Hammers up against backdrop of fan unrest
The Hammers remain out of the bottom three on goal difference going into this weekend’s game at Arsenal.
It is set against the backdrop of a large number of West Ham fans protesting against the club’s owners.
Their list of grievances is long and varied.
But one major bone of contention is the lack of a clear plan and philosophy when it comes to transfers and recruitment.
Hammers supporters believe the scattergun and often cheap approach to transfers consistently leaves West Ham a couple of injuries away from a crisis.
And so that has proved this season with injuries to Lukasz Fabianski and Michail Antonio – and the cheap squad filling with the likes of Roberto and Carlos Sanchez in key positions – widely accepted to have derailed what looked a potentially promising campaign.
Scot wants to transform West Ham with new philosophy
Moyes has revealed he intends to change that. The Scot wants to implement a longer term plan to build a more exciting, meaningful West Ham.
It will be based on the sound recruitment of young, strong, pacy, hungry players from the Championship, elite teams where perhaps they cannot get game time and Europe (whufc.com).
Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek look to be the first pieces in that jigsaw alongside the likes of Declan Rice and emerging talent Jeremy Ngakia.
And speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta has backed his old boss to succeed (Arsenal FC).
Arteta backs ‘hard-working, demanding’ Moyes
“I know David because I worked with him for seven years,” Arteta told the press ahead of the game – Arsenal FC.
“I know how structured and organised he is. They (West Ham under Moyes) will compete, they will be physical.
“The thing I admire most is the person who he is, his values. How he deals with people, how he treats people, how he treated the players when we were together.
“How well he deals with creating a culture around a club, a chemistry between the players and belief we could do something as a team.
“He works really hard, he is extremely demanding. He’s got character, Scottish character and I really enjoyed my time playing under him.
“I spoke with him a few times (before taking the job at Arsenal). He’s always been very supportive, he has a great belief in me and I will maintain a really good relationship. Absolutely yes (I will meet him for a drink after the game).”
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