Arsenal: Mikel Arteta drops huge lineup hint vs West Ham

Arsenal host West Ham United in their return to Premier League football tonight.

With less than seven hours until the London derby between Arsenal and West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has dropped a fairly obvious hint as to who he will start at striker.

Gabriel Jesus is completely ruled out of his usual position as he is currently nursing a necessary surgery. This leaves the striker option up for debate, with a section of fans thinking Eddie Nketiah is not ready.

It was thought last week that Mikel Arteta would start would start Gabriel Martinelli as a striker since it his secondary position. However, this has now changed.

In the Daily Mail, Mikel Arteta made some pretty obvious comments which suggest that Eddie Nketiah will start as the striker, at least for the time being.

"“(I have) more faith in him (Nketiah) every single day,We see every day what he brings to the team, what he is as a human being and the way he is developing as a player.We got a great response last year when we needed him… he is ready. That is why he signed his contract. He is a key player in our squad.” – Mikel Arteta (via Daily Mail)"

You can read this any way you want but to me, this is great news. Eddie Nketiah does not appear to be at Gabriel Jesus’ level but his hunger is certainly the same. He has issued Arsenal an ultimatum that he wants to start, so this is his opportunity.

It’s time for Nketiah to put the talking to one side, and the action to the forefront. Arteta clearly trusts him to fill this big role and if he excels, then it’ll be his first consistent run in the setup, which could mean great things for his career at this stage.

How do you think Arsenal will lineup in this match?