Arsenal’s top four rivals analysed: Man Utd, Tottenham, West Ham, Wolves

West Ham – Unity of Tight-Knit Squad

A thoroughly enjoyable blip in West Ham’s season took place just prior to the short Premier League break, with back-to-back defeats to Leeds United and Manchester United (a draw would’ve been nice) seeing them lose key ground in the top four hunt.

This sit above Arsenal by a single point, but have played two more matches than their London counterparts.

All throughout the season we’ve been waiting for the moment. David Moyes’ side have been outstanding at times this term, not reinventing the wheel in any way but implementing a system to suit the players at his disposal, bound together by a clear unity within the squad and a fanbase fully invested in the project.

All of that, tied together with the best set-piece record in the division and someone on course to be a Premier League great in Declan Rice, has put them well within reach of the Champions League.

But they won’t get it. Sticking a neck out on this one, their failure to invest in the squad over January saw them make three club record bids for players, none of which succeeded. Their paper thin squad has just one striker (not so bad in north London, eh?) and will be contesting in the Europa League knockout stages.

They will gradually fall away even if they have a solid core of 13/14 players who can give anyone in the league a game.

Continued on next page…