After leaving the London Stadium for a whopping £105 million quid, Declan Rice visits a ground he once called home, alongside his new teammates for the Carabao Cup Fourth Round clash with West Ham.
Rice is unlikely to start with Arteta having half an eye on the crunch clash with Newcastle in St. James Park, but the Arsenal manager has stated that he wants to beat West Ham because he would like to win the Carabao Cup this season. The fact that Manchester City crashed out of the first hurdle has given other teams a good chance of fighting it out to win the trophy.
But clubs have constructing form with West Ham losing three on the trot, while the Gunners are unbeaten in domestic competitions. While West Ham would feel hard done by for the narrow loss to Everton despite missing big chances while Arsenal ran riot against Sheffield United on a night Eddie Nketiah would remember forever.
To team news, I would expect changes from the Arsenal side, with Aaron Ramsdale returning to the starting XI ahead of David Raya. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jakub Kiwior will be selected in defense. Jorginho would provide protection to the backing with the energetic Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira providing impetus from midfield. Leandro Trossard and Reiss Nelson will be stationed in attacking flank positions but I don’t know whether Kai Havertz will lead the line, or Nketiah gets another run out as the center forward.
It’s going to be a tough night for Arsenal but I expect them to see this through.
Sayonara.
