West Ham manager Paul Konchesky said his side will not allow their 3-1 loss to Arsenal earlier in the Women's Super League season to sit on their minds as they welcome the title challengers to the Chigwell Construction Stadium on Sunday evening.
Then, Konchesky’s side fired themselves ahead through Dagný Brynjarsdóttir shortly after the half-hour mark, but the Gunners retaliated through Jordan Nobbs seven minutes later, before Stina Blackstenius and Frida Maanum put the game beyond the Hammers. Jonas Eidevall’s side boasted 78% possession on the day and registered 19 shots at Sophie Hillyerd in goal.
Konchesky pointed to the progress made within his side since incurring the defeat, as well as the solid run of form West Ham currently enjoys as they head into Sunday after successive wins in the FA WSL Cup and FA Cup.
However, the Hammers have failed to register a first league win since the turn of the year and the former West Ham man did not feign illusions of how difficult reversing that reality will be given the quality Arsenal tout in its ranks.
"I think we have to leave that game behind now - it's done and dusted,” Konchesky said on Friday. "We've come on since then and built on the performances. We've kept two clean sheets in our last two games and we've had two good wins in the cup.
"So if we can build on that and take it into the game against Arsenal then hopefully it will turn out to be a good game for us."
Konchesky added: "It's always good to face off against the teams at the top because that's where we as a Club are striving to be. We will compete, and hopefully, we can get a result."
The hosts have lost all eight of their WSL clashes with Arsenal, with the Gunners scoring a whopping 15 goals when playing on the road against their London neighbours. And with new signings Victoria Pelova and Kathrine Kuhl getting their first taste of goal-scoring in their 9-0 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Leeds Ladies, more goals will surely be on the agenda.
With a run of two clean sheets in their last two matches, Konchesky will hope his side can contain Arsenal’s attacking threats. West Ham are currently seventh in the league with 15 points, eight points off fourth-place Manchester City and with a game in hand.
Meanwhile, Arsenal find themselves entrenched in a heated title race with Manchester United and reigning champions Chelsea, who both sit three points ahead having played a game more. In their previous WSL match, Arsenal dropped points in a dramatic late draw against Chelsea at the Emirates stadium.
West Ham kick-off against Arsenal on Sunday at 6:45pm from Chigwell Construction Stadium.
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