Mikel Arteta had half an eye on West Ham United as soon as the final whistle confirmed Arsenal’s place in the Champions League final at the expense of Atletico Madrid.
Sunday’s looming clash at the London Stadium pits a Hammers side three games away from relegation against a Gunners outfit potentially just 360 minutes away from a historic domestic and continental double.
A less-than fully-fit Bukayo Saka fired Arsenal past Atletico Madrid to send the Emirates into raptures.
If we are to get a RESULT vs Arsenal, how do you think we’d do it? 🧐
But before they face either the princes of Paris Saint-Germain or the bludgeoners of Bayern Munich in Budapest, Arsenal must first navigate a way past a West Ham United outfit with their very survival on the line.
Mikel Arteta is not letting Arsenal forget about their West Ham United commitments
Club legend Thierry Henry predicts West Ham will pose a ‘difficult’ test, given the circumstances.
And Arteta accepts that the challenge for him is to balance the joy and jubilation of reaching a Champions league final for the first time in 20 years with the focus required ahead of a trip to face Nuno Espirito Santo and co.
“The high is not too high, the low is not too low,” Arteta says. “My job is to be quite stable. I really will enjoy this. Everybody is enjoying this moment now.
“[But on Wednesday], we have to start to prepare for Sunday. We have an incredible game now to play against West Ham – a really tough one – and we’re going to have four days to [get ready for] that.
“So it’s great. Let’s enjoy the moment but, tomorrow, let’s start to live the present again.”
Imaging you’re in Nuno’s shoes; Who are you bringing in to face Arsenal? 👞
West Ham have defeated Arsenal twice in the last five Premier League meetings. Both of those victories came at the Emirates, though. Their home form in these fixtures, though, makes for far less enjoyable reading.
Successive London Stadium defeats against their London rivals, by an aggregate score of 11-2.
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