David Moyes has been speaking to the media ahead of West Ham United’s Premier League fixture with Arsenal on Sunday.
The Hammers are looking to extend an unbeaten run to three games following a 1-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage last Saturday and a 1-1 draw with KAA Gent on Thursday evening.
The return to Premier League action comes before the second leg of our last-eight UEFA Europa Conference League tie against the Belgian Cup holders on Thursday, with Moyes and his side looking to take a further step up the Premier League table.
The manager also offered an update on Gianluca Scamcca, spoke on the challenge of a packed April fixture schedule and shared his thoughts on his former Everton player Mikel Arteta and his work with the Gunners since his appointment in north London in 2019.
I am thrilled that we are still in Europe.
We worked really hard to get into this competition. We are really enjoying it. We have won a lot of games. And to still be in it by the end of April is really important. We will have a huge game next Thursday against Gent.
We had done the basics very well against Fulham, but I didn’t think we did a lot of the basics well [against Gent]. In Europe, it can happen. It was a really tough game for us and in the end, we got away with a good result.
We are only just back from Belgium, so we are still getting ourselves back together so hopefully we are all good [with injuries].
The only news is that Gianluca Scamacca will have an operation on his knee tomorrow (Saturday) so we will be missing him [against Arsenal].
In the last ten games in the Premier League, we are in a good position in terms of the points we have taken.
So, let’s hope we can continue that. My expectation is that every team we put out, we can win with. We will put out a team that we think can try and beat Arsenal. Last year, we challenged a lot of the so-called top teams and gave them really good games. And we will try and do the same against Arsenal.
Everybody needs the points for some reason.
Everybody is chasing something. You are trying to win the league or get into Europe or stay away from the bottom three. So, I think there are very few games where you can say that teams don’t need the points. I think everybody is working to get the win.
Every result always matters in football. There is always something in football that you are going for, but I don’t think I have seen as many teams involved in the bottom three for a long, long time.
I am very impressed [with the job Arteta has done].
They have had a couple of good young players in the system which helped but he has done a really good job to get them close to being a champion in the Premier League.
To be challenging is a huge thing. I think if anybody said that Arsenal would be a Champions League team [this season], you would have said that is a great achievement.
But to take the next step and actually be challenging to win it is an incredible level to get to. They are going away and playing well at a lot of big clubs, so we know we are in for a tough game.
Mikel has built a really good team.
I remember that he was getting a lot of criticism last year, but I think he has always felt he had a good team. And they would get better. There is no doubt they are going to be better than [fifth] this year, so great credit to Mikel and his team. They have done a good job there.
I don’t think you can ever predict who can become a manager because it is pretty difficult.
I think Mikel was always someone who had his own thoughts [on the game]. He was a good player and great for me as a player at Everton and helped us move up the league and move the club up as a football club. So, I will always be grateful for how well he did at Everton.
I think Arteta has had a great education with Pep Guardiola.
He has been able to work under one of if not the best managers in the world. And he’ll have seen a lot of things but also have his own thoughts. He has been able to put over his own playing style that he wants in his own team.
You have to plan to make sure they don’t score any goals.
They are very good, and they have done it on the road and have a great record [of 30 goals scored in 15 away games]. It makes it very difficult for us, but we have had a couple of really good games against Arsenal in the last few years. And hopefully, we can put on another good show.
I think it will help that the players are getting used to the [mid-week and weekend schedule].
We have to try and choose and pick the right players at different moments. I think we are a bit more resilient and used to the games than we have been in the past. But there is a psychological challenge of the Thursday-Sunday, which makes things really difficult. It is just about recovery and getting the players back and as best prepared as we can.
I don’t think have many memories from the Newcastle game as I think we will look at games where we have done better.
In the main, we have done very well at home. And hopefully, we can do that again and show what we are about. I said at the time, I think it was a bit of a freak. And let’s hope it was. We have been pretty good, especially in the last nine or ten games. We have put in a decent points return so we have to keep that going.
The fans have been huge for us over many seasons.
These have been the games where we have needed them. And hopefully, we get their backing again this weekend.
I think we are in a much better run of form.
We are a bit up and down in some areas. But overall, if we take out the Brighton and Newcastle game, then I think that defensively we have been pretty solid. We have one a few games, so I am happy with that.
