"“I just think we feel like a big club,” Sullivan said in an interview with the Guardian in December 2017. “Not a tinpot club.” When players come to look at West Ham, they look at where you play. Look deeper, though. Analysing the club chair's answer nine years on, the conclusion is that this is an owner whose desire to win is cancelled out by his listlessness. Feeling like a big club, after all, is not the same as being a big club."
"Share West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo has switched to a back five, with Jean-Clair Todibo coming into the side in place of Pablo. Aaron Wan-Bissaka is preferred to Kyle Walker-Peters at right-back; those are the only changes from last weekend's defeat at Brentford. West Ham (5-2-2-1) Hermansen; Wan-Bissaka, Disasi, Todibo, Mavropanos, Diouf; Soucek, Fernandes; Bowen, Summerville; Castellanos."
"Arsenal are unchanged from the Champions League semi-final win over Atletico Madrid. Arsenal (4-3-3) Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Eze, Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard. Subs: Arrizabalaga, Mosquera, Hincapie, Odegaard, Martinelli, Madueke, Havertz, Zubimendi, Dowman. Referee Chris Kavanagh."
"It was a soundbite designed to go viral, the kind the ex-pros in the TV studios are always looking to confect; snappy, heavy on hyperbole, bang in the moment. Thierry Henry made it pop on Tuesday night as he interviewed Bukayo Saka on CBS Sports after Arsenal had beaten Atletico Madrid to advance to the Champions League final. We were the Invincibles. You will be the Unforgettables, Henry said."
West Ham’s move to the London Stadium was justified with a claim of feeling like a big club rather than being a tinpot club. The reasoning is framed as lacking substance, suggesting an owner whose desire to win is undermined by listlessness. Arsenal’s approach is shown through a stable lineup after a Champions League semi-final win, with no changes from that match. West Ham makes limited adjustments, switching to a back five and replacing Pablo with Jean-Clair Todibo, while preferring Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back. The match features specific starting XI selections for both teams and names the referee as Chris Kavanagh.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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