Mark Noble believes Friday’s final pre-season match against Manchester City served as the perfect tune-up for Sunday’s Premier League opener.
The Hammers may have been defeated 3-0 by City, but Noble insists the work out in Iceland will stand them in good stead for the trip to Old Trafford at the weekend.
West Ham have prepared for the new campaign with training camps in Austria and Germany – alongside Friday’s game in Reykjavík – and the skipper says that has helped the new additions to the squad bed in.
He explained: “We’ve been away for four weeks really – we then flew into Iceland the day before the game [against Man City] and it was a really good workout.
“You know they’re going to be fighting for the Premier League title, and we play Man Utd next week, so the more fitness you get the better.
“We’ve brought in quality this summer. Chicha still needs to get match fit – he got a good 45 minutes on Friday and now we’ve got a good week of training at home before the first match.
“Joe [Hart] and Arnautovic have been with us for most of pre-season, so it has been good.
“It’s great to sign the England goalkeeper. You can’t turn an opportunity like that down for his experience and what he’s done in the game. He’s a great character as well and is good to have around the place.
“We are aiming to finish as high as possible, but so are ten other clubs. That’s just the way the Premier League is.”