West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui thinks Arsenal are the “best team” in the Premier League despite lagging behind Liverpool in the table.
The Gunners have only won one of their last five Premier League matches, beating Nottingham Forest 3-0 in their last league outing at the weekend.
Arsenal are currently fourth in the Premier League table, level on points with Chelsea, one point behind second-placed Manchester City and a huge nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool.
However, West Ham boss Lopetegui – who has been under serious pressure this season over results – reckons Arsenal are still the “best team in the Premier League” despite being so far behind Liverpool.
Lopetegui told a pre-match press conference ahead of their clash against Arsenal: “The most important thing is the players on the pitch being ready to compete against, in my opinion, for sure the best team in the Premier League and one of the best teams around the world.
“He’s doing fantastic as a coach and managing in a fantastic way at Arsenal, putting his idea and you can see very well how he did and the kind of coach he is but we need to be ready.”
Lopetegui will miss West Ham’s match against Arsenal after he picked up a third booking of the season in a 2-0 win over Newcastle on Monday night.
On his poor discipline this season, Lopetegui said: “Sometimes I need to improve the way I say my feelings, I have three yellow cards but it’s OK.
“Sometimes I’m passionate, I try to say something and I act and make an action with my hands but I have big respect for the referees and I don’t feel anything bad.”
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Arsenal beat Sporting CP 5-1 in the Champions League in midweek and the West Ham boss was impressed by what he saw from Mikel Arteta’s men.
The Spaniard continued: “It was a very good performance for sure but it’s not only this, normally Arsenal have a lot of solutions and players and have a lot of ways to win. They played well.
“If I talk about him (Odegaard) then I must talk about Saka (Bukayo), Declan Rice, they have top players, Havertz (Kai) they have two teams.”
When asked if he enjoyed the win over Sporting, Arteta told reporters on Tuesday: “For sure, especially against the opponent that we played in their home, I don’t think they’ve lost a game in 18 months.
“They’ve been in top form, they did better than anyone they played here, so to play to the level, with the determination, the purpose, and the fluidity that we’ve done today, very pleased.”