Arsenal sensation Gabriel Martinelli could play in a completely different position vs West Ham and it’s a terrifying prospect.
The Premier League is back on Monday and for West Ham it is out of the frying pan and into the fire as they face a daunting trip to leaders Arsenal.
For many West Ham fans – and indeed manager David Moyes – the World Cup break came at a good time with the side in rotten form and the dark clouds starting to gather over the London Stadium.
At Arsenal the polar opposite was true with Mikel Arteta’s side flying high and bang in form.
Gunners fans always feared the World Cup break could impact the team’s momentum and posed an injury risk for some of their star men.
The latter certainly proved true with star striker Gabriel Jesus ruled out for three months due to an injury sustained playing for Brazil in Qatar.
That was a boost for Moyes, for whom Arsenal are very much his number one bogey side.
In 39 matches as a manager against Arsenal, Moyes has overseen just four wins, nine draws and 26 defeats with a goal difference of -46.
Despite that woeful record and the contrasting form of the two clubs this season, the Hammers manager is feeling surprisingly chipper ahead of the big London derby.
Moyes and West Ham should not be lulled into a false sense of security by the injury to Jesus, though.
Because not only do the Hammers have injury issues of their own.
But Arsenal sensation Gabriel Martinelli could play in a completely different position vs West Ham and it’s terrifying.
Arsenal sensation Gabriel Martinelli could play in a completely different position vs West Ham and it’s terrifying
Many Gunners fans remain unconvinced by Eddie Nketiah – who actually has a good record against West Ham.
And our man in the know at Arsenal, George Newman, reckons Arteta could be plotting to experiment with a big change against West Ham – playing Martinelli up front as a striker.
“Jesus is obviously the main man and brings so much to the team even when he’s not scoring,” Newman told Hammers News.
“A lot of the fans still aren’t convinced Eddie is the answer up front, certainly not as a starter. He’s done well in spells for us in the past – and as you are probably well aware – particularly against the Hammers.
“But there are whispers around the club that Martinelli could be played up top which could certainly be very exciting indeed.
“Gabi is absolutely rapid and so direct that, in theory, it could work wonderfully. We’ve seen so many wingers progress into top strikers at Arsenal down the years – none more famous than Thierry (Henry).
“Who knows perhaps Martinelli could be the next one. He usually has to beat several players before getting close to goal when playing out wide. But as a striker, he beats one and he’s got a shot on goal.
“Martinelli is brilliant with the ball at his feet and has great pace so he could offer a threat in behind and when dribbling at the likes of Craig Dawson. Fans are very excited at the prospect of seeing how that works if Arteta does test it out against West Ham.”
Two players who won’t be excited by that prospect will be Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna.
That is likely to be West Ham’s centre-back pairing for the clash at the Emirates with uncertainty over Nayef Aguerd’s availability and Kurt Zouma out until mid-January.
Martinelli would be a defender’s nightmare with his pace and skill. Dawson and co will understandably be terrified at the prospect.
Let’s hope it’s an experiment that fails miserably for Arteta if he does indeed go that way on Monday night.
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