Arsenal handed welcome and dangerous West Ham boost

Arsenal have been able to rest and recuperate for more than a week – Benjamin White even had time to go on his jollies – as they prepare for one of five remaining cup finals against West Ham on Sunday.

Boasting a two point lead over Tottenham as they occupy the final Champions League spot, a helping hand from Brendan Rodgers’ side wouldn’t go amiss when the Foxes head down to north London a few hours prior to Arsenal kicking off.

An interesting situation awaits both top four chasing clubs as they play sides just coming off the back of European semi-finals. Leicester managed a 1-1 draw at home to Roma in their Conference League first leg, while the Hammers hosted Eintracht Frankfurt at the London Stadium.

Just that David Moyes’ side will play three days before hosting Arsenal is beneficial enough on account of some hopefully tired legs, while their injury situation is equally as welcome.

Arsenal handed welcome and dangerous West Ham boost as 2-1 first leg defeat in Europa League semi-final is ideal scoreline for Sunday

There were surprised faces across east London when the previously injured Kurt Zouma was announced in the starting lineup way ahead of schedule, and the Frenchman lasted the full 90 minutes albeit with a fair amount of hobbling towards the end. Craig Dawson partnered him in defence, but he will miss out on Sunday due to suspension, leaving a half-fit Zouma as their only available central defender with Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna still out.

As for the result, it was about as ideal as Arsenal could ask for. The Hammers slipped to a narrow 2-1 defeat in a game where they struck the post and the crossbar, with them still firmly in this tie. Eintracht Frankurt have won just four of their 16 home games in the Bundesliga so Moyes’ side should head there with every belief that they can secure a result.

Trailing from the first leg means they have no choice but to go for the win, and with a clash against Arsenal sandwiching the biggest night in most of the players’ careers it could be seen as more of a distraction than anything else. Zouma, having come back from injury far sooner than expected, can’t surely be played three times in a week. They may have to dip into their reserves for central defenders.

All of which sounds like an massive boost. Because it is. And that is what makes it dangerous.

Arsenal can’t afford to be complacent. Just because the cards you’ve been dealt are favourable doesn’t mean you’ve won the hand. While West Ham will have their attentions turned to the next leg, this is still a London derby where they are chasing a top six place in the Premier League – the position they’ll leapfrog Manchester United into if they beat Arsenal.

Momentum is also key in football and a positive result and performance is something they can take with them over to the Deutsche Bank Park. Mikel Arteta has been excellent this season at ensuring the players’ focus is only ever on themselves and the game at hand, which he once again needs to channel to avoid an unnecessary slip-up.

There is no denying that the circumstances and context favour Arsenal. But how many times has that proved to be their undoing?