Lucas Paqueta and Michail Antonio are still sidelined with injuries, so David Moyes will not have them available when Arsenal plays West Ham on Sunday.
With three draws and a loss in his previous four Premier League games, Moyes will be hoping for his first Premier League victory of the season when the Hammers take on the Gunners in a major London derby on Sunday afternoon.
He won’t be able to do so without Antonio, who is back in training following a knee injury but isn’t yet ready to play, and Paqueta, who has a calf issue.
“Lucas Paquetá isn’t ready yet,” Moyes stated at a Friday press conference. Although he has only been working out with the group for two days, Michael Antonio has begun his training.
Though it’s wonderful to have him back, his availability and match fitness are still lacking.
Having handled the Spaniard at Everton and been extremely impressed with what he has accomplished at Arsenal, Moyes will be facing a man for whom he has a great deal of respect: Mikel Arteta.
“The manager’s work with the team has been excellent.” With regard to the Gunners, Moyes remarked, “They have some really top quality players.”
They truly are a very good team. We’ve had some excellent successes against them overall, and we did a tremendous job winning at the Emirates.
“When we play them on Sunday, we’ll have to work hard and play well again.”
In the previous season, Arteta expressed his incredibly good views about Moyes by saying, “It’s more than respect, I think it’s admiration.” I had a great time playing under him. Like everyone in that group, I would have gone through a stone wall for him when he was my manager.
“[He’s] an amazing coach who excels in both group management and one-on-one interactions. He’s also a very special individual who is dependable and a man of his word.” He was someone I learned a lot from and he always did it.
