West Ham will be looking to claim their second big scalp
of the festive season when they tackle Arsenal on New Year's
Day.
The Hammers upset Premier League champions Manchester United on
Saturday to consolidate their position in the top half of the
table.
They are also the only side to have beaten Arsenal at Emirates
Stadium in the Premier League, winning 1-0 last April on their way
to a miraculous escape from the bottom three.
The Gunners will be keen to set the record straight and go into the
game in confident mood after a 4-1 victory over Everton that lifted
them back to the top of the league.
Flexible
The clash at Goodison Park was notable for the way Arsenal altered
their approach and played in a more direct fashion, and Arsene
Wenger has admitted he is prepared to be flexible.
Whether that means Arsenal play in the same manner against West Ham
remains to be seen, but Wenger may be loath to leave out Eduardo da
Silva following his match-winning turn.
Nicklas Bendtner is suspended so Emmanuel Adebayor is likely to
come back in, while there could also be changes in midfield.
Tomas Rosicky will hope to start after scoring as a substitute in
the final minute at Everton.
Injury concerns for Curbishley
Alan Curbishley has a number of injury worries after midfielders
Nolberto Solano (hamstring) and Scott Parker (knee) both had to be
taken off against Manchester United.
Former Arsenal player Freddie Ljungberg is also struggling with a
hamstring problem and may not be able to feature.
The Hammers are already without a whole team of injured players,
including Craig Bellamy, Kieron Dyer and Bobby Zamora.
Julien Faubert, Matthew Etherington and Lee Bowyer are all back in
training but Curbishley has hinted they will not return until the
weekend at the earliest.
