Moyes after West Ham win: Oh no, we’ve got Arsenal in midweek

David Moyes celebrated his first victory since being appointed West Ham manager – and has discussed his reasons for axing Joe Hart.

Marko Arnautovic scored the only goal as the Hammers secured a crucial 1-0 victory over Premier League champions Chelsea on Saturday.

Arnautovic, West Ham’s £24million club-record signing, was jeered by home fans earlier in the season after some below-par displays but he looks a player reborn under Moyes.

In fact West Ham looked an entirely different side to the shambles they appeared towards the end of Slaven Bilic’s spell in charge as they secured a first win since Moyes took over at the end of October.

Moyes showed he is not one to shy away from tough decisions, and dropping England goalkeeper Joe Hart in a World Cup year was certainly a big call.

But Hart’s replacement, Spanish keeper Adrian, justified his selection with fine saves from N’Golo Kante and Davide Zappacosta.

“I thought Adrian played very well,” said Moyes. “Joe took the decision really well and gave Adrian plenty of encouragement so I have to praise Joe.”

For Moyes, it was also a first home win as a manager in almost a year, having presided over Sunderland’s miserable relegation campaign last season.

 

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“All managers need wins. That’s the way it is,” he added.

“I think coming to the club everyone could see I have had a pretty difficult run of fixtures, but today we did a job, the game plan worked.

“I’m always happy when I win. The best feeling is the Saturday night feeling after a win.

“But then I put my jacket on as I left the dressing room and thought ‘oh no, we’ve got Arsenal in midweek’.”