West Ham vs Arsenal team news: Aaron Cresswell and Michail Antonio out but Andy Carroll may feature - Slaven Bilic

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James Benge2 December 2016

West Ham are set to be without both of their first-choice full-backs Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell for the visit of Arsenal on Saturday, Slaven Bilic has confirmed.

The duo both limped out of Wednesday’s EFL Cup defeat to Manchester United with injuries and whilst Bilic offered a positive assessment of their medium-term prospects neither Cresswell nor Antonio will be able to feature against their London rivals.

We paid the price for playing a strong team in the cup game,” Bilic admitted. “The good thing is it is not really bad.

“I just spoke to the medical team and they’re out for this game but the team is very optimistic they should be ready for the game against Liverpool [on Sunday December 11].”

Cresswell and Antonio’s absence could force Bilic to abandon their 3-4-2-1 that has brought a notable upswing in performances, if not always results, since he returned to it for a trip to Crystal Palace in October.

Alternatively the West Ham boss could turn to the likes of Edimilson Fernandes, who filled in for Antonio on the right wing in an EFL Cup tie against Chelsea earlier this season, and struggling left-back Arthur Masuaku if he decides to continue with a back three.

Bilic also faces a selection headache further forward after Diafra Sakho was ruled out for six weeks with a hamstring injury. With the rest of his frontline yet to find the net in the league the return of Andy Carroll could provide a much-needed goal threat for the struggling Hammers.

Carroll netted a superb eight minute hat-trick in a 3-3 draw when these two sides met in April at the Boleyn Gound and will be available after three months out with a knee injury, though a full 90 minutes may prove to be beyond the 27-year-old.

In Pictures: West Ham vs Arsenal

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“He will be in the squad. He is ready,” Bilic confirmed. “His injury happened at the beginning of the season so it’s like three months. He’s ready, although he’s definitely not ready to play 90 minutes. He’s ready to make an impact.

“He’s a player that, like Sakho, he offers us something special. He is one of the main reasons we were so prolific last season and versatile and dangerous. He had a spell last season where he had injuries but he also had a spell of playing 90 minutes, as well as a spell making an impact from the bench.

“Against Arsenal, we were 2-0 down and it was basically him that brought us back in the game and he scored a hat-trick and had one of the best 45 minutes from last season. If you ask what he’s capable of, that’s one of the best examples.”

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