The Hammers posted the fourth-worst defensive record in the Premier League last season, while Arsenal finished with the best.
And McAvennie – speaking exclusively to West Ham Zone – feels defenders such as Kurt Zouma and the club’s recruitment team should use Ben White, William Saliba and Gabriel as models.
“The three boys at Arsenal are good players – White, [Saliba and Gabriel]. Unbelievable. I think they’re very good. But they’re not going to go to West Ham. But it’s players like that that they need,” he said.
“They don’t need Zouma [who] can’t run, they don’t need these kinds of players that don’t want to go in where it hurts them – these boys don’t shirk out of a tackle at Arsenal. They’ve never backed out of one tackle. And yet sometimes this season, the boys at West Ham have. I don’t like seeing centre-halves backing out of tackles, it’s no good.
“But it is what it is, it’s going to be a new chance, a new start. Everyone’s going to get a chance – even the boys at the back – but you’ve got to be better than you were last year. You’ve got to up your game.”
Can West Ham United take inspiration from Arsenal?
The gulf in quality at the back between the Hammers and the Gunners in 2023/24 was stark.
Only the three promoted – and subsequently relegated – sides shipped more Premier League goals than West Ham’s 74, while Arsenal conceded just 29 times in their 38 league games.
West Ham United home ground London Stadium
West Ham’s London Stadium home
If players like Zouma are still at the club under new head coach Julen Lopetegui in 2024/25, they will have to improve a great deal if the Hammers are to achieve their aims.
0 Comments