**West Ham defender Konstantinos Mavropanos says the Hammers are just as “hungry” as Arsenal for the win on Sunday evening.**
The Gunners know three points will go some way to clinching the Premier League title, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s side also desperately need a victory to get themselves out of the bottom three.
Following the 3-0 defeat to Brentford last week, West Ham are one point adrift of safety, and asked how his team will react to the setback, Mavropanos said:
“We’ve always been able to react; this is what we expect on Sunday. It’s a big game, but I think we are as hungry as they are, obviously for different things, but it’s a game that we have to go for it.”
Mavropanos will be a key figure for the Hammers
-----------------------------------------------
The Greek international is actually a former Arsenal player, having left the Gunners for Stuttgart on a permanent basis in the summer of 2022 before returning to London a year later.
Mavropanos has helped West Ham beat Arsenal twice in his six derbies for the club. He famously scored at the Emirates in 2023 to clinch a 2-0 win, which damaged their rival’s title prospects.
However, the centre-back has never secured a home league victory in this fixture, and he will be hoping that changes this weekend.
West Ham have to approach the game carefully
--------------------------------------------
As Mavropanos points out, it’s a match where the Irons “have to go” for all three points as they need to apply maximum pressure on Tottenham, who play a day later against Leeds.
However, if they are too open, it could [**play into Arsenal’s hands**](https://hammersheadlines.com/west-ham-news-paul-merson-arsenal-score-prediction/). Nuno and assistant Paco Jemez need to put a smart game plan in place to ensure they come away with a victory.
[**Want more news on West Ham? Add Hammers Headlines as a preferred source on Google**](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=HammersHeadlines)