Arsenal vs West Ham: Hammers must match Arteta’s scrappers
West Ham boss Graham Potter hinted at a lack of intensity in training before his arrival as he addressed the press ahead of Saturday’s Premier League game against Arsenal.
As is the norm in these types of press conferences, there were the usual platitudes and efforts not to offend. Potter is skilled and adept at dealing with journalists and rarely gives too much away.
However, if you scratch below the surface, little snippets of information can seep through, and his observation that he wanted to bring more ‘intensity’ to West Ham’s training after his arrival was telling.
Potter is far too classy an operator to openly criticise his predecessor, Julen Lopetegui, but by describing what the club needed in training, the new gaffer inadvertently alluded to what had been lacking before.
Interestingly, Potter did admit that the extra intensity in training may have played its part in the mini injury crisis at the club. The Irons manager referenced that Lucas Paqueta sustained his ankle injury following a challenge in training from Aaron Wan-Bissaka, so clearly, the players are training hard.
To be honest, I don’t blame him for trying to get his squad match-ready. They’ll certainly need to be exactly that against a Gunners team full of fight.
Mikel Arteta is intensity personified, and his team mirrors that no-nonsense approach. The Hammers will have to be up for the fight in this one because as good a technical team as Arsenal are, they’re also scrappers, and West Ham will have to be ready
Avoiding criticism of a confirmed lampoon like Lopetegui is not class. The inability to say what you mean and believe to be true without being rude, crass, spiteful or vindictive, while at the same time being constructive, simply indicates a lack of vocabulary and the ability to use it ad lib, that’s all. That does not mean that criticism and truth are bad or should be avoided. If it is your opinion, say it and stand by it.
Ironically in an interview before he started Lopetegui talked about demanding intensity in training from his players. So what went wrong?