To that hope, he modestly adds the codicil 'if selected', saying:
"It will be emotional if I am playing!
"You never pre-judge if you are going to play or not but hopefully I will still be in the team."
Asked if he anticipates a gesture from Arsenal to recognise his achievements in a long, illustrious career, he says:
"I wouldn't think so; I appreciate the time I had there and I have always said I have a special job because I am doing something I love doing.
"I don't need any other mementoes - other than the fantastic memories I have.
"I don't expect anything or need anybody to give me anything; I have got those memories, as I will have when I leave West Ham, and much more my concern at the moment is helping West Ham out of relegation trouble.
"I have had nearly three great years at the club - it has still been a challenge for me and one that I appreciate West Ham have given me, because it is still a Premiership club, and I want it to be one when I leave it as well.
"It is getting closer for me to retire, especially in the Premier League; I feel I have given it everything I can and I want to for the last 16 games whether I am involved or not.
"Going back to Highbury will be special; I can't hide that because I had such good times there for so long - but you never know, we might get them in the cup as well."
Nigel is hoping to bounce back after going off during the Newcastle game, and he explains:
"I had a dead leg which has proven hard to get rid of, and if I am not fit I won't even put myself forward for selection; there is no point taking a risk, as the consequences for the club are a lot more important than for myself.
"We are in a terrible position and we are going to a team that is top of the league and going great guns - so we need to be 100%, and if I am not fully fit I won't put myself forward.
"I haven't trained yet, which is a big disappointment, but I am hoping to do so on Friday, and it is a case of if I come through that whether I am still in the team or not."
This season is already something of an encore for Nigel after it looked as if he would leave the club in the summer, and he admits:
"Towards the end of last season it wasn't looking too good - Vladimir had been bought to take over and there wasn't any offer of a new contract.
"But, to be fair, I wasn't sure if I wanted to carry on myself and I don't think the club realised at that stage, so there was no animosity on my part.
"I just wanted to give it to the end of the season then make a decision then, but when it became clear I was going to carry on the club offered me a new deal, so it was great - if I was going to stay playing my choice was West Ham."
But, of course, the bulk of his career has been at Highbury, and Nigel adds:
"It was a special time at Arsenal; I had come from Wimbledon, a small club that had done well and proven everyone wrong, to a club that had had some good times, was going through a difficult patch, and was still expected to win things.
"Obviously with George Graham taking over not long before, and having won the Littlewoods Cup, they were starting to get a feeling back that they might start to win things again.
"I realised it was a big club, you were expected to win every week, and you were expected to put a trophy there every season.
"Luckily for me we got a few to keep the fans happy enough - though not every season.
"They have moved on a notch from when I was playing and their standards have gone even higher.
"The way things are going this season I think it would be a major disappointment to the fans if they didn't win anything now because they are in pole position.
"But it is all about us, really; we have to get some points from somewhere - hopefully starting on Sunday."
So, er, how do you stop the Arsenal machine?
"I don't know, really - just play without any fear," he says.
"Any team in the Premiership can beat another on any given day, and it has been proven this season; no team is invincible, and everyone is beating everyone.
"We are aiming to be consistent now for the rest of the season but they are fantastic - you only have to look at who they have sitting on the bench to know that.
"If you sit around and talk about them all day and be frightened about players like that, though, you don't usually get anything.
"But if you face them square on on a given day you can beat them, which would be very nice.
"We have done well against them in the last couple of years and - especially away - it has been a lot harder.
"But it could have been different there last season with the 'goal' that never was, but although they beat us 2-0 they scored twice in the last 18 minutes.
"But although we are bottom I don't think they are going to take us lightly - we will just have to give our all and see what happens."
Inscribed decanter or not, it is the points Nigel would prefer.