Daily WHUFC News - 22nd April 2018

Arsenal v West Ham United: All you need to know
WHUFC.com

West Ham United visit Arsenal at the Emirates in a crucial match in the
Premier League.

Read on for all the information you need ahead of this weekend's contest.

Where and when?
The Hammers travel to Emirates Stadium to play the Gunners on Sunday 22
April 2018.
The contest is scheduled for a 1:30pm kick-off.

How to follow:

This match is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK. Coverage begins
at 12:30pm.
Channels: Sky Sports Premier League
Live match updates will be provided through the official West Ham Twitter
account.
You can also follow the game live via our Matchday Blog on whufc.com.
You can also follow the match on our official Instagram, Facebook and
Snapchat channels.

Team news:

Manager David Moyes has revealed that Andy Carroll and Manuel Lanzini have
continued their comeback in training this week, after the pair returned to
the field against Stoke City. James Collins is not far off from a return,
while Pedro Obiang could feature again before the end of the season.

What they say: "Arsenal is certainly a game we can get something out of. We
will work hard and give everything to get a result." Edimilson Fernandes

Match Officials:
Referee: Lee Mason
Assistant Referees: Harry Lennard and Matthew Wilkes
Fourth Official: Graham Scott

How to get there:

Arsenal (Piccadilly Line) Finsbury Park (Victoria, Piccadilly Lines)
Highbury & Islington (Victoria Line, North London Line) King's Cross is the
main connecting station

By Train
Holloway Road station will be exit-only before and after matches with pre
match eastbound trains non-stopping. Drayton Park is also closed on match
days

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Rice: If we can put pressure on Arsenal we stand a good chance
WHUFC.com

Declan Rice says the Hammers should head to Arsenal with a fearless attitude
on Sunday as they look for the three points that would go a long way to
securing their Premier League status. Having taken five points from their
last three games, the Hammers have displayed a growing confidence in recent
weeks and Rice believes that should stand them in good stead in north
London. West Ham were unfortunate not to defeat the Gunners at London
Stadium in December when Chicharito struck the crossbar in the final minute,
so the young defender sees no reason why David Moyes' men can't repeat their
victory at Arsenal from the 2015/16 campaign. "We shouldn't go there with
anything to fear," he said. "We've got a game plan – they're on a run at the
moment that they're not too happy with and they'll have the Europa League to
think about too. It's going to be a good game and we desperately need the
three points. "If you go there and put the pressure on I think you stand a
very good chance. Arnie's in top form and it's good to have Manu and Andy
Carroll back – it's great strength for all of us."

From a personal point of view, the 19-eyar-old is still pinching himself at
the vast top flight experience he has gained this season. "It's been a crazy
year for me to be honest," he continued. "This time last year we were
talking about looking at loan options for this season, but I came back for
pre-season, got the call-up for the tour, did well there, and that's what
has led on to this year. "it's always been my dream to play football in the
Premier League and to be doing it at 19 is crazy. I've just got to keep my
head down, keep working and not let it get to you. That's the main thing.
"You have to know where you've come from, remember the people that have got
you here and there's no need to get big headed or big time because it could
all stop at any time."

Rice illustrated his meteoric rise perfectly this week by posting an image
on social media showing him meeting Pablo Zabaleta as a fan less than four
years ago, alongside another of them as teammates from the Stoke game this
week. He explained: "That picture with Pablo was taken at Rush Green!
Argentina came here to train before they played Croatia at the Boleyn Ground
and I think the whole of Dagenham turned up! "I was there in my school
uniform and school backpack and managed to get a pic with Zaba. I was going
through my phone the other day and found it so I thought it would be good to
do a little picture, because me and him get on well."

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Carroll: I want more of that goalscoring feeling
WHUFC.com

Andy Carroll is ready to take out the frustration of a stop-start season on
the Hammers' final four opponents as they target Premier League safety. The
No9 returned from a 13-game lay-off with an ankle injury in style on Monday,
coming off the bench to notch his side's last-gasp leveller against Stoke
City. Now, as the Hammers enter the finishing straight still needing a
handful of points to secure their top-flight spot, Carroll wants to
experience that goalscoring feeling again. "It was nice to get a goal on
Monday, because I've been out a long time," he explained. "When you're 1-0
down and you get an equaliser it's a great feeling. "It's been a frustrating
season. It's tough [when you're injured] and you're working alone – you just
want to be on the pitch. "When I've been out I just try to get around the
lads as much as possible for all the games and be there to support them as
much as I can. "We're feeling good. We've had a couple of good games with
good results and picked up points. "It was important to get the point
against Stoke to continue that and now we need to few more to get safe."

Carroll has a good record against the Gunners, having scored a hat-trick
against them in the final Boleyn Ground meeting, and he believes David Moyes
will have the team set up to get a positive result. He added: "It would be
nice for any of us to get a hat-trick on Sunday! Just a few points would be
nice. That hat-trick in 2016 is a good memory. We didn't win the game, but
we didn't lose it either, so it was good. "It's been very good working under
David Moyes. His coaching has been very good and he's brought a lot of
different strategies for us. "Every game is different and he's brought that
to the pitch. I've been enjoying it and so have the lads "If we can go to
Arsenal and get the three points to hopefully secure us in the Premier
League for next season, that would be a great result."

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Betway Insider's View of the Opposition: Arsenal
WHUFC.com

The goalless draw played out between the Hammers and Arsenal back in
December felt like an anomaly at the time, and that impression has only
strengthened in the months since. London derbies between West Ham and
Arsenal don't tend to disappoint, with ten of their previous eleven meetings
before the start of this season featuring a minimum of three, and average of
four, goals. And, based on the goalscoring form of both sides since the
reverse fixture, another stalemate on Sunday is unlikely. The Hammers have
failed to score in just one of their 16 league matches since, while
Arsenal's only two blanks during the same period came against Tottenham and
Manchester City. The Emirates has also seen plenty of entertainment
recently, with every match in all competitions there this calendar year
serving up at least three goals. While the Gunners' home form is impressive
– winning 13 of 17 league games on their own patch this season – creditable
draws away to Spurs and Chelsea suggest that West Ham are more than capable
of achieving at least a point against the Premier League's sixth-best side.
When it comes to working out who might find the net for the away side, it
makes sense to look beyond the usual candidates. Marko Arnautovic remains
influential, but has only scored in one of his last six matches, while four
of Javier Hernandez's last five appearances have come off the bench. That
was the case against Stoke on Monday, though it was another striker in Andy
Carroll who ultimately provided the impact required to rescue a point with a
fine finish on his return from injury.
The No9 has scored West Ham's last four goals against Arsenal – including a
memorable hat-trick in the last season at the Boleyn – so looks a good bet
to provide the firepower required to get the better of the Gunners' famously
fragile defence.

Recommended bets
West Ham double chance and BTTS – 12/5
Over 3.5 goals – 6/5
Andy Carroll to score – 12/5
BACK THIS #BETYOURWAY AT 9/1

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Ray: Ladies must apply themselves to end season on a high
WHUFC.com

West Ham United Ladies head coach Karen Ray admits the thought of ending the
season unbeaten has been considered but insists her team are completely
focused on the next task - Portsmouth Ladies at home on Sunday. The Hammers
completed a cup double last weekend with a 5-0 victory over Luton Town
Ladies to lift the FA WPL Plate, having also won the Women's Cup ten days
prior against Charlton Athletic. The result means the Irons have now gone
12 games unbeaten, winning ten of them including the last seven. It's a run
that started with the first game of 2018, with Ray's side keeping ten
clean-sheets in that time and scoring 51 goals. And, with three games
remaining in the Premier League Southern Division, Ray confessed that the
thought of ending the season without another defeat had been considered.
The head coach insisted that her, and her team's, primary focus was on
achieving a good performance when Portsmouth Ladies visit Rush Green on
Sunday. "I would be lying if I said it hadn't crossed our minds, but it was
a momentary thought," Ray said, when asked about an unbeaten end to 2018.
"We all know we have to take one game at a time, our success is down to our
accountability during training and getting carried away with statistics
isn't something we will stumble over. "All three games are going to be
difficult, starting with Portsmouth. They are all strong teams who
undoubtedly want to be the club who ends our run. As a team, we must use
that as our fuel. We are more than capable of finishing these season on a
high but only if we apply ourselves and do the little things."

Goals from Ellie Zoepfl. Amber Stobbs, Kelly Wealthall and Rosie Kmita
secured the WPL Plate for the Hammers on Sunday and Ray took the opportunity
to praise her team's tenacity. The General Manager also offered praised to
Luton Town for their efforts in the final. Ray continued: "The biggest
positive is the recognition the players have rightly earned. Ultimately,
they are the ones who show up to every session with great intensity and work
harder than any group I have worked with. Now, they get to see all of that
effort come to fruition. "Luton proved to be a tough challenge, they really
showed why they deserved to be in the final. They were physically strong,
tenacious at times and their goalkeeper Kezia Hassall certainly had a
fantastic game. It wasn't our finest performance, but we showed how we can
still win games when we dig deep and stick together. "

With the possibility of making it 13 games without a loss this Sunday
against Portsmouth, Ray reckons she, her coaching team, and the players have
found the perfect formula in calendar year, since she took charge. "I knew
we had a winning group but we just had to apply ourselves," Ray added. "With
Jack Sullivan's support and hard work, I was in a position to really focus
on the team, and hopefully I have repaid his trust in me. "When you combine
a group of people who are willing to graft, battle and trust each other, the
shift in mentality changes, and we are rich in people like that.'

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Trott: The season isn't over
WHUFC.com

Nathan Trott insisted the season isn't over for the West Ham United Academy
players despite their Premier League 2 campaign coming to an end on Friday
night with a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal. The Gunners were crowned Division 1
champions at London Stadium with their victory to round off the term, but
for players like goalkeeper Trott who are keen to impress on the first team
scene, the hard work continues. With stopper Joe Hart unavailable to face
Manchester City in the Premier League next week, young keeper Trott is set
to be on the substitutes' bench for a second time this campaign. And the
19-year-old is now focused – after an impressive performance between the
sticks against Arsenal – on doing enough to catch manager David Moyes' eye.
He said: "The season is not over for us yet; Hopefully now I get
opportunities to train with the first team and hopefully I can do that and
at least get on the bench for them. "It's always good that you're getting
noticed against the top teams like I did against Arsenal on Friday and it's
always good to keep the good form going and putting in good personal
performances. "It's been a really positive season; we've beaten big teams –
Man United, Everton, Liverpool, Man City… We've competed with Chelsea and we
have a lot of points and one of our objectives was to finish top six and
hopefully we have done enough to have done that. "It was a difficult game on
Friday and Arsenal are a really good team on really good form. First half
was a bit of a slow start and we gained focus in the second half and that's
when we got the goal. "And now our season is over after a really good year
but we have to stay focused because trying to impress the first team manager
has to be the aim for players like myself before the summer begins."

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Westley: It's been a season full of positives
WHUFC.com

West Ham United U23 boss Terry Westley labelled the campaign as a whole for
the Academy of Football 'a season of positives' and said Friday's defeat to
Arsenal in Premier League 2 Division 1 will not cloud that. The Gunners were
3-1 winners at London Stadium, and as a result were crowned Division 1
champions, thanks to goals from Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah – who grabbed
a double. Domingos Quina's brilliant second half strike reduced the deficit
but the visitors grabbed all three points, on a night that was about
celebrating the successes of the Academy, according to Westley. He said:
"One game doesn't cloud our overall development and let's be clear; I
couldn't be more proud of the staff and the players for this season. "There
have been so many plusses for us; players have been on loan this second half
of the season, playing at high levels. Martin Samuelsen, who was 21 last
week, has played over 50 Football League games. "Moses Makasi has gone to
Plymouth, done well and they've all gained valuable experience at a very
good level. "We did brilliantly to reach the knockout-rounds of the
Checkatrade Trophy; we finished the game [against Stoke] with Mark Noble,
Josh Cullen and Declan Rice all on the pitch together, a proud moment for
the Academy. "Now, our season comes to a close but the first team still
have five fixtures and the players have to put their foot on the pedal once
again to see if they can get 20 minutes here and there before the end of the
season. "We have three tours as an Academy as well; the season is far from
finished. The players still have to work hard, and over the summer too."

Arsenal were impressive from the outset as they went in search of
silverware, and the Hammers had goalkeeper Nathan Trott after a string of
fine saves in the first half kept the score at 2-0 before the break. And
despite the hosts coming out and pressurising their opponents at the start
of the second period, Steve Gatting's Gunners were crowned champions at full
time. "I think a big congratulations goes to Arsenal," continued Westley.
"You are where you are at the end of the season, and it tells the story. In
an attacking sense, they are a handful and have been for every team. Many
congratulations for them. "From our point of view, that was the difference;
their attacking players, their pace and power really made the difference. In
general in the game, we had more of the ball and passed it nicely. "We made
opportunities, but every time the game turned over, they looked dangerous.
"But tonight was about celebrating our season; because it has been a great
season for us."

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Arsenal v West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 21st April 2018
By: Preview Percy

When we met up with Preview Percy the other day he was wearing shorts. A
most disconcerting sight to behold on a full stomach. Thankfully rain is
forecast. In the meantime here's his look at Sunday's visit to Arsenal.....

Next up we travel to the Library where we will be hosted by Arsenal .
Kick-off is 1.30pm on Sunday 22nd. At the moment. Apologies for being so
vague but this fixture has been shifted so many times in recent weeks it
wouldn't surprise me if it had already been played and nobody had told us. I
think the one thing I can guarantee is that it won't be played at 20:00 hrs
on Monday 23rd April. Which is the time and date printed on the ticket. Well
on my ticket anyway. Yours may be different. As the match will be taking
place on a Sunday, probably, It seems that there is little in the way of
engineering work in the manor, presumably because we are away. Some early
morning stuff and in the evening the ginger line to Highbury & Islington
faces a bit of disruption but we'll all have gone home by then. Probably.

So good old Arsenal then. Damn them. In an unusual state of preparedness I
had most of this written and ready to give to the short chubby one pending a
couple of updates. So what happens? Wenger goes and announces his
resignation from the end of the season. Apart from anything else that will
knacker the Wenger hokey-cokey song, not that I can do all the actions at my
age. I'm not sure how old Wenger is but if he is retiring he may well
qualify for free prescription spectacles, in which case he would be well
advised to get shot of those ones he has been wearing for the last 22 years.
He hasn't seen a thing through them in all that time. All sorts of names are
being linked with the soon to be vacant post with the front-runner being
former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel, the state of whose eyesight is
unknown at present. There is of course one very, very large down side to
Wenger's departure. I refer, of course, to the fact that the resignation
will make Piers Morgan happy, something of which no sane human being could
approve.

So where will the myopic one leave the club after 22 years? Well they
currently sit in 6th place with 54 points from the 33 played to date. This
is before any results come in on Saturday mind. After the midweek fixtures
that's 9 points (less a game in hand) behind Chelsea who occupy the
automatic Thursday Night League spot, though that particular place is, as
ever, dependent on who wins the Cup, the direction of the wind and the
timing of the Spring equinox. They are, of course, still in this year's
Thursday Night League, hoping to win the thing and thereby qualify for the
so-called Champions League. That particular plan took a bit of a dent when
they got drawn against Atletico Madrid who are by far and away the strongest
club left in the competition. Especially as the Spanish side will get to
play the second leg at home, something that is usually perceived as an
advantage.

The first leg of that particular tie is on Thursday which may or may not
have a bearing on the sort of side that they field on Sunday/Monday/whenever
Sky tell us. The likelihood of qualifying for Europe via the league will
depend to a large degree on Southampton not winning the Cup in which case
qualification could go down to 7th. That's probably the most likely scenario
so there's no real need to worry too much about Burnley who prior to
Saturday's fixtures, are two points behind. On the other hand should
Southampton do the unthinkable they could face the very real prospect of not
being in Europe next term. With the Chelsea v Southampton semi-final not
taking place until after this match Wenger will have a decision to make come
Sunday morning. By the sound of things from interviews given this week it
looks like this match is down the pecking order so that even if we may not
be looking at a side of League Cup level it is likely that there will be a
few rested.

Their problem lies in the disparity between their home and away form. The
work experience kid of as yet to be determined gender wearing a hoodie who
seems only able to communicate with some strange grunting noises knocked up
something on his or her laptop that showed different league tables for home
and away. Form. If home games only were included they would be third in the
table behind the child poisoners and the human rights abusers of Salford and
Manchester respectively. On the road however they would be 12th. For
information we would be 12th and 15th respectively. Oh and on the road
Arsenal have picked up precisely one more point than us (though we have
played a game more away from home. They must be unused to noise, one
imagines. Of course, their away form is a bit academic given that this match
will take place in the peace and quiet of the library. However it does give
a pointer to why all is doom and gloom up there at the moment.

There had been rumblings of course in the run up to the transfer window.
Just about anyone who was any good, and plenty who weren't was being linked
with a move away from Islington. In the end the main departures were
Sanchez, who chose the child poisoners over the human rights abusers,
Giroud, who took his daft beard to the money laundry and Debuchy who they
had forgotten was there anyway. He took his mutually agreed cancelled
contract to Saint Etienne where his defensive partnership with Sarah
Cracknell is expected to take time to bed down.

Incoming on the radar was Mkhitarian who arrived as part of the Sanchez
deal, striker Aubameyang who arrived from Borussia Dortmund for a cool £56m
and a rookie defender in the form of Konstantinos Mavropanos, who cost £1.8m
from Greek outfit PAS Gianina (no me neither).

Being active in the January markets is unusual for Wenger – and I'm sure the
conspiracy theorists will spot the Dortmund link between possible new boss
Tuchel and Aubameyang who I vaguely recall was probably one of those French
strikers Sullivan was definitely going to sign until their club raised the
possibility that a transfer fee might be payable.

Aubameyang himself is likely to cause Wenger a bit of a selection headache.
On the one hand you'd definitely want to pick a striker with six in his
first 8 Premier League games on form alone. However, Wenger did leave out a
number of regulars against the Geordies last weekend, presumably with the
Thursday Night League in mind. Aubameyang himself is ineligible for Thursday
so the quandry is whether or not to give his place to someone who will be in
the squad for Athletico to give them a bit of match fitness.

Well Monday night saw yet another appalling and unacceptable performance
from the match officials. Not that you would have noticed had you been
following the instructions issued by the Baroness in her twitter account,
which, with 15 minutes to kick-off was more concerned with drumming up
support for her latest foray into the world of television. Sorry Baroness I
was busy. Just as I will be for every other episode of whatever it is you
want me to watch. Priorities you see.

Meanwhile for those of you who could drag yourselves away from the latest
bunch of people trying to succeed in business by taking advice from someone
who has spent a career working for people successful in business, for the
second time in a week ref Oliver had a dreadful game that he will get away
with because in amongst it all he managed to get a couple of high-profile
decisions right; something that again distracts from the basic inadequacies
of his game. As with the now infamous Real Madrid v Juventus match Oliver
was quite happy to ignore cynical foul after cynical foul without bothering
to look for his cards, the production of which might have nipped the
cynicism in the bud. In a match where Stoke gave away 21 fouls, most of
which were designed to break up play and prevent shots, it says everything
you want to know about the appalling state that English refereeing has
gotten itself into that the first caution of the evening went to one (only
one mind) of the four or five players that went towards the crowd to
celebrate their goal. The first two disallowed goals were fair enough-ish (I
look forward to seeing us presented with the 1981 League Cup now that it has
been clearly established once and for all that Clive Thomas is a cheat and a
liar). The third one however should have either been allowed or given as a
penalty.

The worst thing of all is that now FIFA have wised -up and have realised how
bloody terrible our referees are you stand a good chance of having to share
a beach with one of them this summer. One day, maybe not soon but it will
happen as sure as eggs is eggs, an English referee will be caught up in a
match-fixing scandal. Then someone will look back and try to analyse how we
got to a position where matches could be fixed and nobody would notice. And
they will put out one of those big reports much beloved of Government select
committees and everyone will be amazed that nobody did anything to prevent
it.

Back to the current situation and we can be grateful that Stoke – who
averaged a foul every three minutes or so – did not inflict further damage
to add to our injury list, which is comprised of the following:

1) James Collins (hamstring). Earlier on this week it looked like he
was getting closer by the hour and had a 75% chance of making the bench. I
then re-checked before submitting and lo and behold that chance had gone
down to 25%. I'll take that as a "no" then.

2) Pedro Obiang (knee) Next Term

3) Winston Reid (knee) Next Term

4) Michael Antonio – (hamstring) – due to have had an op by now. Next
term

5) Sam Byram – (ankle) Next term

All of which means that neither Carroll nor Lanzini picked up anything nasty
on Monday night. Well not at the ground anyway. Post-match the manager's
concerns for each were contrasting. For Carroll the main worry was match
fitness, everyone being more than happy that the broken foot had fully
healed. For Lanzini there was still an element of shepherding the knee
ligament back to full fitness. For that reason I suspect that both will be
on the bench at the start of this one. In fact it wouldn't be a great
surprise were we to start a third consecutive match with the same starting
XI, something which is almost unheard of given our injury record.

And onwards we move to the land of predictions. Of course the already iffy
atmosphere at the place will have had a whole can of aerosol uncertainty
sprayed over the place with Friday's announcement of the forthcoming
managerial change. It would be hilarious were we to get the win that would
confuse the hell out of Piers Morgan (is it Wenger's fault for going or
staying?) but for all their problems their home form is decent. If they put
out a League Cup side there's a chance of our first XI (or as near as we can
get to one) doing a number on them but I think that if the head rules the
heart here we would expect to get beaten. On the other hand the sun is
shining, the birds are singing, and even Matron has a smile on her face. So
with all the logic of someone seeking business advice as part of a tv show
(you do realise that the tv company wants you to fail spectacularly don't
you?) I will go for a draw as we inch slowly to safety with all the speed of
Preview Alastair getting a round in. Make that a 1-1 please Mr Winstone and
I'll settle up with you on my way back from the Swan and Superinjunction.

Enjoy the game!

When Last We Met At The Library: Lost 1-0 (League Cup Quarter Final –
December 2017)

Having enjoyed the heroics of the previous round we meekly shouldered arms
in this one. Welbeck's effort just before the interval was enough, even
though Carroll and Sakho were given 25 minutes apiece to turn things around.


Referee: Lee Mason

Showed a degree of common sense in the debacle that was Burnley at home when
he would quite legitimately have dismissed Noble for his altercation with a
supporter. I suspect he has been told off accordingly by the powers that be
and don't be surprised if the usual village idiot turns up this time.

Danger Man: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

On form at the moment. Depends on what sort of side Wenger picks I suppose.

Percy's Poser

Last week we asked you what major problem did Josiah Wedgewood have to
overcome to set up his company in the Potteries. Congratulations to Mrs
Bridget Arnold of Dartford for knowing that Mr Wedgewood, having lost a leg
to smallpox, was completely unable to operate a potter's wheel, something of
a potential handicap for a budding ceramics entrepreneur. Thankfully back
then there were no tv programmes from which to seek business advice for the
entertainment of others so he just got on with it, rather successfully one
would say. Well done Bridget!

For this week's poser we ask you a two-part question: 1) What is Arsene
Wenger's current spectacles prescription? And 2) What should it be? First
prize is one of those dreadful "magic-eye" books that were so popular all
those years ago. You know, the ones that you stare at for an hour and still
fail to see the 3D picture you are supposed to see, ending up with an image
of a badly drawn dolphin riding what appears to be a unicycle imprinted on
your retinas. And a splitting headache.

Good luck everyone!

Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the
author and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be
attributed to, KUMB.com.

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Exclusive: Andy Carroll says England rumours are 'flattering' but he's heard
it all before
Last Updated: 22/04/18 7:53am
SSN

Andy Carroll says it is flattering to be tipped for an England call-up for
the World Cup, but insists he has heard the rumours all too often over the
years. Carroll returned from a three-month absence to score West Ham's
equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Stoke on Monday Night Football, just his
third goal of a season blighted by injury. He hasn't played for England
since October 2012, and though the 29-year-old has been tenuously tipped as
England's fourth striker at Russia in the summer, Carroll says he's heard it
all before. He told Sky Sports: "At the beginning it was flattering, but
it's happened now for a few years. "Every time I play, it's the same
rumours. Every time I score, it's the same rumours. So it's one of those
things you just deal with now. "It is nice, obviously, to be spoken about in
that way, but it's been said for a long time now. "I'm just concentrating on
playing, scoring goals and staying safe with West Ham. Then what comes will
come."

Carroll has missed large chunks of the last two seasons with West Ham having
suffered ankle, groin and knee injuries. He could make his first start since
January against Arsenal on Sunday at the Emirates, live on Sky Sports
Premier League, and Carroll opened up on how frustrating it has been both
mentally and physically to watch on from the sidelines. "It's frustrating,
I've had a lot of injuries in my career, and it's tough, it's hard being
away from the team, not a part of it. "It's really difficult to work alone.
I just try to get involved with the lads as much as possible, because it's
difficult just being by yourself in the gym. "I try to get around the lads
as much as possible, I'm at all the games, there as much as I can to support
them, not just playing football. "I've been working hard, it has been tough,
mentally tough as well. Working with the physio in the gym, or one-on-one on
the pitch. "It's tough, especially when you look across the other side of
the pitch and the lads are having fun, doing what you want to do, playing
football, and I'm sat with a couple of weights on my back, so it's good to
be back."

Watch the full interview with Andy Carroll on Super Sunday as Arsenal face
West Ham, live on Sky Sports Premier League

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MATCH PREVIEW: ARSENAL V WEST HAM
By Dan Coker 21 Apr 2018 at 08:00
WTID

Blast from the past

2nd November 1991 – U2 were number one with 'The Fly', Homicide was in UK
cinemas and, three days later, Robert Maxwell was found dead at the age of
68. Meanwhile, Billy Bonds' West Ham United were sealing a 1-0 victory over
Arsenal in front of 33,539 at Highbury.

George Graham's First Division champions, including future Hammers Ian
Wright and Nigel Winterburn, put their newly-promoted visitors under
pressure in the first half but the Hammers started to have breakaway moments
in the second period, in a match which was Michael Thomas' last in the
Gunners' midfield before his switch to Liverpool. Anders Limpar saw a
dipping volley from the edge of the penalty area tipped over by 'Ludo'
Miklosko after the interval while Mike Small's stinging effort from Kevin
Keen's pass was touched over by David Seaman at the other end. 29-year-old
Small, a £400,000 summer signing from Brighton, went into this game having
scored 12 goals in his first 18 matches as a Hammer.

As the game started to open up, the Irons went in front through their
in-form striker Small (pictured). Fellow summer recruit, left-back Mitchell
Thomas, emerged with the ball from a scramble on the edge of the Hammers'
box and carried forward beyond halfway before finding marauding right-back
Tim Breacker. He played a one-two with captain Ian Bishop and passed inside
to Small on the edge of the Gunners' penalty area. Small turned away from
his markers before firing a blistering left-foot drive beyond the dive of
Seaman and into the Clock End net in front of the visiting Claret and Blue
Army.

Arsenal pressed for an equaliser in the final ten minutes but the Hammers
still had their moments on the counter attack with the pace of Stuart Slater
a constant threat. Slater broke down the right late on and found Keen with a
great chance to double the lead but his effort could only bobble wide. The
action from this game, including Small's winner and an interview with West
Ham centre-half Tony Gale, can be viewed in my video below.

The Gunners would finish fourth in 1991/92, while the Hammers would end the
campaign bottom and relegated. Leeds won the league and Liverpool won the FA
Cup. Small would end the campaign as the Hammers' top scorer with 18 goals
from 51 matches. Julian Dicks, who didn't return from a serious knee injury
until December, was voted Hammer of the Year, with Steve Potts runner-up.

Arsenal: David Seaman, Lee Dixon, Colin Pates, Andy Linighan, Nigel
Winterburn, Paul Merson, Michael Thomas (Perry Groves), David Rocastle,
Anders Limpar, Ian Wright, Alan Smith.

West Ham United: Ludek Miklosko, Tim Breacker, Steve Potts, Tony Gale,
Mitchell Thomas, Kevin Keen, George Parris, Ian Bishop, Stuart Slater, Mike
Small, Frank McAvennie.

Club Connections

A large group of players have turned out for West Ham United and Arsenal.
Carl Jenkinson is currently on loan at Birmingham from the Gunners having
spent two of the previous three seasons on loan at the Hammers. Other
players to have represented both clubs include:

Goalkeepers: Richard Wright, Manuel Almunia, Jim Standen.

Defenders: Matthew Upson, Nigel Winterburn, Steve Walford, Bob Stevenson.

Midfielders: Stewart Robson, Liam Brady, Yossi Benayoun, Archie Macauley,
David Bentley, Luis Boa Morte, James Bigden, Roddy McEachrane, Jimmy
Jackson, Alex Song, Henri Lansbury, Fred Kemp, Fredrik Ljungberg.

Strikers: Harry Lewis, Bobby Gould, Jeremie Aliadiere, Dick Burgess, John
Blackwood, Fergie Hunt, Dr Jimmy Marshall, Kaba Diawara, Jimmy Bloomfield,
Charlie Satterthwaite, Marouane Chamakh, Billy Linward, Lee Chapman, Tommy
Lee, Ian Wright, Peter Kyle, John Hartson, Stan Earle, John Radford, Davor
Suker.

Ron Greenwood was also assistant manager at Arsenal before becoming manager
of West Ham.

Today's focus though falls on a former goalkeeper for both the Gunners and
the Hammers. Charles James Ambler was born on the 13th August 1868 in
Alverstoke, Hampshire and began his career at Bostall Rovers before signing
for Royal Arsenal in 1891, shortly before they turned professional and were
renamed Woolwich Arsenal. As an amateur, he also turned out for Clapton,
Dartford and Luton.

After struggling to make it with the Gunners, Ambler became part of a select
club to swap Arsenal for Tottenham in the summer of 1894 but he returned to
Woolwich Arsenal in November 1895. He made his only league appearance for
Arsenal in a 5-1 Second Division defeat to Newton Heath (the club who went
on to be Manchester United) on 30th November 1895. He again left Arsenal for
Tottenham in the summer of 1896, remaining with Spurs for four years before
joining Gravesend United in 1900. He was shortly on the move again, this
time to New Brompton (the club now known as Gillingham) before signing for
West Ham United in 1901.

Ambler (pictured) was reserve team goalkeeper with the Hammers but won a
place in the limelight almost by default when an administrative mistake
meant the Irons were to host Tottenham in a Southern League match at the
Memorial Grounds on the same day as welcoming Leyton for an FA Cup third
qualifying match. With the prospect of larger gate receipts from the league
game, West Ham ceded home advantage in the Cup and sent the reserves to
Leyton – the league was taking priority over the cup even back at the start
of the 20th century! 33-year-old Ambler kept a clean sheet in the match at
Leyton on his competitive West Ham debut in a 1-0 win on 2nd November 1901
while the first team lost to Spurs by the same scoreline at the Memorial
Grounds in the league.

As a consequence, the West Ham management decided to rest regular custodian
Hughie Monteith for the next league match, with Ambler making his only
Southern League appearance for the Hammers the following week against QPR,
on 9th November 1901. The Irons lost 2-1 at Rangers' Latimer Road home in
North Kensington – incidentally, the West Ham side had to change in the
Latimer Arms pub and run down the road to the pitch! It was to prove to be
Ambler's second and last competitive appearance for West Ham United.
Monteith was back in goal the following week when the first team were dumped
out of the FA Cup at home by Essex village side Grays.

Ambler joined Millwall at the end of the 1901/02 season, his only campaign
with the Hammers. In later life he changed his name to Charles James Toby –
Charles Ambler passed away in 1952 at the age of either 83 or 84.

Referee

Sunday's referee will be Lee Mason from Greater Manchester. Mason's three
games officiating the Hammers this season have all ended in defeat. Most
recently, he took charge of our 3-0 home defeat to Burnley last month, while
the other two matches were both 3-2 defeats: at Southampton in August when
he failed to send off Dusan Tadic but did give Marko Arnautovic a red card,
before awarding the Saints a match-winning penalty in added time; and
against Newcastle at home in December when he awarded the Hammers a penalty
only for Andre Ayew's effort to be saved. Mason refereed the Hammers once in
2016/17 – the 1-0 home win over Hull when he awarded the Hammers a
match-winning penalty – but took charge of two West Ham matches the previous
season, those being the 0-0 draw at Swansea in December 2015 and the 3-0 win
at West Brom in April 2016.

He refereed three Premier League matches involving the Hammers in 2014/15 –
the 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa, the 1-0 home win over Sunderland and the 2-1
defeat at Old Trafford when he sent off Wayne Rooney, denied the Hammers a
penalty when Morgan Amalfitano's cross struck Radamel Falcao's arm and
disallowed Kevin Nolan's last-minute strike for a marginal offside. Mason
was also the man in the middle for our 1-0 FA Cup win at Bristol City in
January 2015. He also officiated in four of our games in 2013/14, sending
off two of our players (Mark Noble against Everton and James Tomkins at
Cardiff) and disallowing a perfectly good Stewart Downing equaliser at
Crystal Palace. He also sent off Mark Noble at Birmingham in December 2009.

Possible line-ups

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who announced yesterday that he will step
down in the summer after 22 years as Gunners boss, will be without the
injured Santi Cazorla and Henrikh Mkhitaryan while Jack Wilshere faces a
late fitness test. Aaron Ramsey is available after a shin injury. Wenger may
make changes with Thursday's Europa League semi-final first leg at home
against Atletico Madrid in mind – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is cup-tied for
that match so is likely to face the Hammers instead, having scored six goals
in his opening eight Premier League games for Arsenal.

West Ham United are without Sam Byram, Winston Reid, James Collins, Pedro
Obiang and Michail Antonio. Italian centre-half Angelo Ogbonna faces a late
fitness test on a knee injury. The Hammers have scored in each of their last
nine away league games, their joint-longest run in a single Premier League
season since 1999/00. David Moyes has never won a match in league or cup
away to Arsenal, either at Highbury or The Emirates. West Ham's tally of
five Premier League victories at Arsenal is bettered only by Manchester
United (eight) and Liverpool (seven).

Possible Arsenal XI: Cech; Chambers, Mustafi, Holding, Monreal; Xhaka,
Elneny; Iwobi, Willock, Aubameyang; Lacazette.

Possible West Ham United XI: Hart; Zabaleta, Rice, Ogbonna, Cresswell,
Masuaku; Kouyate, Noble, Mario; Lanzini, Arnautovic.

Enjoy the game – Up The Hammers!

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