West Ham United manager David Moyes believes his side’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal has given his side a “shot in the arm” ahead of their second leg against Gent.
The Hammers host their Belgian opponents on Thursday night at the London Stadium hoping to seal a place in the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League after a first leg 1-1 draw in Belgium last week.
West Ham go into the tie buoyed after coming from behind in the Premier League on Sunday to earn a 2-2 draw against league leaders Arsenal, moving them four points clear of the Premier League’s relegation zone.
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After a flat performance in Belgium, the thrilling draw with London rivals Arsenal has given the Hammers a big boost ahead of their second leg clash with Gent, knowing a win will put them in a European semi-final for the second season in a row.
Asked whether the second leg comes at a quick time following the draw with Mikel Arteta’s side, Moyes believes that the result has given his players a real boost.
“I think we’ve given ourselves a real boost, a real shot in the arm,” Moyes told football.london.
“Our levels at Arsenal compared to Thursday night were hugely different. I think we had seven players who started against Arsenal who didn’t start against Gent. So there was a little bit of that. A few changes. That gave us a bit of freshness for the Arsenal game as well. Not everybody was tied up with energy deficiency after the game in Gent.”
Asked whether the Hammers’ boss was set to name a team mixed with first-choice and fringe players as he has done in the knockout rounds in Europe this season, Moyes said that West Ham have to keep going with less than two months of the season remaining.
With a trip to Bournemouth in the Premier League coming less than 72 hours after the second leg with Gent, Moyes admits that game will come into his thoughts when naming his team.
“We have to. We’ve got the last few hurdles of the Grand National to go now,” added Moyes.
“We’ve got to keep at it, keep going, get over the next few jumps and then hopefully you can see the finish line.”
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