Mikel Arteta was coy on the question but what he is telling Arsenal players privately is simply insulting for West Ham.
West Ham welcome league leaders Arsenal to the London Stadium for a huge clash on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners are chasing a shock Premier League title while West Ham – perhaps just as surprisingly – are battling against relegation.
The fact West Ham find themselves in the thick of of the battle for survival means the pressure is just as much on the hosts as it is Arsenal.
And given West Ham’s dismal record against the top sides over the last 15 months under Moyes, that does not bode well.
Pleasantries have been exchanged in the press conferences by Mikel Arteta and David Moyes ahead of the game.
But make no mistake the reality is Arteta has developed a ruthless, cold streak which explains why his side have been turned into challengers.
So much so the Gunners are said to be genuinely targeting the West Ham match as a chance to boost their goal difference in the title race.
Arteta was coy on the question but what he’s telling Arsenal players privately is insulting for West Ham.
It sums up how far West Ham fallen that the subject of boosting goal difference – in a London derby – was even discussed in an official press conference.
“We think about every possibility,” Arteta said when asked on the matter of seeing the clash as a chance to close the gap on Man City’s goal tally.
“Obviously, we want to win matches first and earn the right to win them, and then we want to score as many goals as possible, but we have to be open to everything and any possibility.”
The Arsenal boss was then pressed further with reporters asking him whether he will go all out attack when the game against West Ham gets to 2-0 in a bid to boost GD.
“Every game is a different story,” he responded.
There were no platitudes saying ‘we must respect West Ham as an opponent’ – because let’s be honest about it, the Hammers have done little to earn any respect from teams like Arsenal this season.
Word in Arsenal circles is that privately the manager is making it clear to his players that West Ham is a major chance to rack up some goals.
That is obviously insulting and embarrassing to hear.
But one look at our possession and passing stats this season tells you why Arteta feels such confidence.
Against Fulham West Ham defended manfully but recorded just 23% possession and made only a third of the passes their opponents did.
Even against supposedly vastly inferior Belgian opposition in Gent, West Ham could not keep the ball and had less possession.
Play like that against Arsenal – and there has been little to suggest we are capable of suddenly reversing a 15-month trend – and we will be like lambs to the slaughter.
Let’s hope the Hammers can pull off a shock and make a mockery of Arsenal’s plans to boost their goal difference.
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