West Ham boss David Moyes has been impressed with Mikel Arteta’s start to management at Arsenal but is eager to provide a bump in the road when they face off this weekend.
The Hammers travel to the Emirates on Saturday for an evening kick-off in the Premier League against a side full of confidence after winning the FA Cup last month.
It gave Arteta his first silverware as a manager, despite only taking over in December, and the Spaniard’s successful start to life in the hotseat has created a buzz around the Gunners.
Moyes is not quite so fortunate with West Ham losing their opener at home to Newcastle and yet to strengthen significantly in the transfer market this summer, but he remains upbeat ahead of the London derby.
The 57-year-old said: “If you win two trophies (FA Cup and Community Shield) in about six weeks, if you’re not high on confidence after that then I don’t know if you’ll ever be.
“Mikel has done a brilliant job in a short space of time and we have to give him a lot of credit but my job is to go there to make sure we make it hard, don’t give them an easy ride and try to pick up a win.”
Arteta spent six years working under Moyes at Everton before he left Goodison Park in 2011 to join Arsenal.
The respect between the duo remains high and the West Ham boss reflected on the key impact made by his former player.
Moyes added: “The biggest thing is that he has changed the system. He’s also changed the mindset and attitude, they are all running and doing the work for him.
“We have seen Arsenal do all that in recent weeks. They are a new team, still in progress and we hope we can capitalise on those situations, go in and put on a good show.
“We played really well there last year. We’ll try and get something from the game and a good performance.”
Hammers captain Mark Noble will need to be assessed after he missed training on Friday with a toe injury but fellow midfielder Jack Wilshere is back after an ankle issue ruled him out of the midweek Carabao Cup victory over Charlton.
West Ham remain active in trying to improve their squad, with the Scottish manager positive they will have reinforcements before the transfer window shuts on October 5.
“We have a big squad here but we have an imbalance. We have an awful lot of wide players who can play upfront or midfield and less defenders to choose from,” Moyes explained.
“Behind the scenes we have a couple of offers in on different players so I hope that we might have some news next week some time.
“We want to bring in players that will give us a good balance to the squad. We also want to think clearly to get the right ones and that we do the right thing.”
