Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said Saturday’s match away to London rivals West Ham United will prove the acid test of their lingering Premier League title hopes.
Arsenal are third in the table, 11 points behind leaders Leicester City and with a game in hand ahead of their trip to face sixth-placed West Ham at Upton Park.
Arsenal have seven league games left to play this season and defeat this weekend would all but scupper their chances of overhauling Leicester.
“West Ham is a tough proposal, yes, away from home,” said Wenger, whose side opened the season with a 2-0 home loss to West Ham.
“They (have) had a very good campaign. When you look at the quality of the players they have, individually they have a good midfield, good strikers and they are solid at the back.
“I think the emergence of (Dimitri) Payet has given them a lot of creativity and efficiency. They have (Cheikhou) Kouyate, (Mark) Noble, Payet, (Manuel) Lanzini — they have a strong midfield and good strikers with (Diafra) Sakho.”
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Wenger has been particularly impressed by the form of compatriot Payet, with the West Ham playmaker recalled to the France squad ahead of this year’s European Championship on home soil.
However, the Arsenal manager said he opted against signing Payet, who arrived at West Ham in a £10 million (Dh51.8m) move from Marseille, because he already had a number of similar players on the books at the Emirates Stadium.
“He has always had top talent, even when in periods he has been a bit up and down,” Wenger said. “But he has been very consistent (this season).
“Historically we always had a great number of creative players — we had (Mesut) Ozil, (Santi) Cazorla, (Jack) Wilshere, (Aaron) Ramsey — they are all offensive players and I’ve certainly forgotten a few, so we had the numbers.”
Ramsey (thigh) and fellow midfielder Mathieu Flamini (hamstring) could return against West Ham after injury layoffs, while Petr Cech could start in goal in place of David Ospina after being an unused substitute in the victory against Watford.
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