Noble's cause for optimism

Mark Noble knows West Ham United will have to play like a team of superheroes to secure victory at Arsenal on Saturday.

The in-form No16 was part of the Hammers side that pulled off a miraculous 1-0 win at the Emirates in April 2007 - largely thanks to the heroics of 'Spiderman' Robert Green.

That result that paved the way for the club's 'Great Escape' from relegation and Noble believes a similar result would kick-start West Ham's bid to get out of the Barclays Premier League's bottom three.

"I'd take a one-nil, but not with the pressure we were under that day! I think Greeny was Spiderman that day because he kept everything out of the goal. I'll never forget it because we were the first team to beat them there and it laid the foundations for us to go on and stay in the Premier League.

"They are one of the best teams in the league. They are fantastic at keeping the ball and it's so hard to get it off them. They have an unbelievable set of players but we are confident and will go there and enjoy it."

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Noble himself is enjoying his football this term, lining up regularly alongside Scott Parker in the Hammers engine room.

There, the former England Under-21 captain has been able to show off his full repertoire of passing, setting up two goals in Wednesday's 3-1 Carling Cup fourth-round victory over Stoke City.

The 23-year-old danced around three defenders before pulling the ball back for Manuel da Costa to put West Ham ahead before sliding an inch-perfect pass through for Victor Obinna to complete the scoring two minutes from the end of extra time.

"I'm really happy with my own form. It's probably the best I've played for a long, long while. I feel I'm back to the way I can play and I'm just going to try to stay fit and keep getting the results.

"We know we can play like that. It was obviously disappointing on Saturday [in the 2-1 defeat by Newcastle United] because, for the first 20 minutes, we played unbelievable and got a goal, but it changed from there.

"We spoke about the things we need to do as a team, as a group of coaching staff and a group of players and I think that showed itself on Wednesday night.

"Against Stoke, we dominated the first half but didn't really create a lot. It then came off for us and we managed to put it to bed. It was a cup tie and they had to go for it near the end and that played into our hands and we ran out worthy winners.

"The 3-1 was a good result in the end, but it could have been four or five. All credit to the likes of Valon and Victor who came on and added that little bit of spice and we managed to get the result.

"We need to keep trying to play because we know we can do it. We obviously need to get more consistent as a team and as a group of players, but I'm sure that will come and we'll start to climb the table."