Arsenal are set to take on West Ham United in an EFL Cup clash on Wednesday.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is likely to name a heavily rotated starting XI when his side travel to the London Stadium to take on the Hammers.
Whilst the Spanish coach will name a side he believes is strong enough to see the Gunners progress in the competition, there will still be a number of fringe players in the squad expecting a rare start.
Amongst those potential incoming players, there will be a few who are particularly desperate to impress and convince Arteta that they are deserving of greater game time.
Three Arsenal players who need to shine against West Ham
Aaron Ramsdale
Aaron Ramsdale lost his regular starting berth to Brentford loanee David Raya earlier this season. The £30 million shot-stopper has recently spoken out about the pain that has come with his demotion. However, his only route back to being the No. 1 will come via impressing during his rare opportunities.
Raya hasn’t been overwhelmingly brilliant between the sticks in recent weeks. The door is not yet entirely shut on Ramsdale at Arsenal, but he needs to stand out when given the chance.
Reiss Nelson
Reiss Nelson has generally looked good when he has played this season. Unfortunately, the 23-year-old winger has only managed 103 minutes of first team football, across six outings this season, excluding his previous start in the EFL Cup.
Given how rare starting opportunities are for the Hale End academy graduate, there is plenty of pressure on him to take those chances and prove his quality. If he wants to be seriously considered for more Premier League involvement, he needs to put on a show against West Ham that is impossible to ignore.
Kai Havertz
Kai Havertz has hardly lit up the Emirates Stadium since his £65 million arrival from Chelsea in the recent summer transfer window. Arteta has handed him plenty of opportunities to prove his worth, but the German just looks short on confidence, and has now fallen out of the regular starting XI.
The time has come for Havertz to make a statement. He needs to show up against West Ham.
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