da dobrowin： West Ham United return to action this evening to take on Arsenal in the Carabao Cup, with David Moyes aiming to get his side back on track.
da bet7： The Hammers have suffered a downward spiral, winning just one of their last six Premier League matches, and that was against the division's bottom side, Sheffield United.
Their promising start to the campaign, which saw them claim victories over Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea, is firmly in the past and Moyes is now under increasing pressure.
If the Scotsman can mastermind an upset against the Gunners this evening, some of that pressure will be relieved, but it won't erase the doubts surrounding his position as manager.
West Ham team news vs Arsenal
West Ham will be without right-back Vladimir Coufal this evening, but David Moyes has confirmed in his pre-match press conference that his side otherwise have a clean bill of health.
While his immediate team selection is made easier by the fact that Edson Alvarez and Lucas Paqueta will be available to feature this evening, the Scotsman will likely use this fixture as an opportunity to rotate his side and perhaps experiment at the top end of the pitch.
If recent performances are anything to go by, Michail Antonio's days as a Premier League striker should be long over and his cause isn't helped by their failure to sign a striker in the summer.
The 33-year-old was particularly disappointing in the 1-0 defeat to Everton on Sunday, registering zero shots on goal, misplacing six of his 13 attempted passes, gifting possession to his opponent eight times and was rightly hooked on the 57th minute, as per SofaScore.
With Danny Ings the only other senior striker vying for that spot, Moyes could experiment against Arsenal by utilising Mohammed Kudus in that position instead.
Why Mohammed Kudus should start at striker vs Arsenal
Kudus is predominantly utilised as an attacking midfielder or right winger, however, the statistics he's served up suggest he has the skill set to successfully operate as a lone striker, dropping deeper to receive possession like a false nine, but also driving his team forward.
The Ghanian possesses explosive ball-carrying, is exceptional in tight spaces and has the upper body strength to hold his own in a central role, having been lauded for his "superb ball control" and "dribbling skills" by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
Unlike Antonio, however, the emerging superstar has the technical attributes to go with his speed, strength and power – those latter traits seeing him hailed for his "electric pace", as per Kulig.
Kudus is also no stranger to operating in a makeshift striker role. During his time at Ajax, he was used sparingly there, scoring an impressive nine goals in 16 matches as a centre forward last term.
The 23-year-old is also known for his barnstorming runs and brilliant finishing, having showcased that in glimpses for the Hammers so far, evidenced by his magnificent attacking metrics in the past year.
According to FBref, Kudus ranks in the top 1% against attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues for non-penalty goals, the top 1% for goals per shot on target and the top 16% for successful take-ons per 90.
The ball-carrying phenom, who was once described by former manager Erik ten Hag as "incredible", has all the tools in his locker, as demonstrated by the above statistics, to be an effective striker for the Hammers and should replace Antonio against Arsenal.