Former England man Jamie Carragher explained why he feels West Ham United may have an edge over Arsenal.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has told Sky Sports that he feels West Ham may have a slight advantage over Arsenal this weekend.
The Hammers start the Premier League season with a difficult game away at the Emirates Stadium following an intense pre-season, which has already seen the club play several competitive fixtures in the Europa League.
Carragher feels that could make several members of Slaven Bilic’s team a little bit sharper than their Arsenal counterparts ahead of the game this weekend.
“It is a very difficult first game, but what they have had are Europa League qualifying games which are competitive, maybe more so than Arsenal’s pre-season games,” he told Sky Sports.
“And you cannot make so many changes in those games, so you would expect his first 11-15 players (I think he has played a few youngsters in those games) who he has chosen for those games maybe are a little bit fitter and sharper than Arsenal’s players, who have just been playing friendly matches.”
The best game plan for the Hammers
The best plan for Bilic to take into the game is arguably a cautious one, regardless of the fact that West Ham may be a little sharper than Arsenal.
Arsenal have plenty of players all over their team who can hurt West Ham, if they are a bit too reckless with their approach to the game.
The Hammers need to rely on their defence to soak up a great deal of pressure before they look to counter attack and take advantage of any space which the Gunners leave in behind.
If they execute a cautious approach effectively then there’s no reason why the team can’t pick up a positive result.
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