West Ham United midfielder Pedro Obiang welcomes the pressure from the departure of Cheikhou Kouyate ahead of their FA Cup clash with Manchester City.

Making the most of the chance

Obiang has been quietly going about his business for the Hammers this season, and is considered one of the star performers in what has been a below-average season at the London Stadium.

The Spaniard is expected to get a run in the side with the departure of Kouyate to the African Cup of Nations, but stated that he welcomes the pressure and vowed to make the most of his opportunity.

“At the moment I need to continue this kind of form," Obiang told whufc.com. "I want to get even better."

"I need to score my first goal for West Ham because that it is important for any player," he stated. “I have come close but that is not good enough! I want to get on the scoresheet."

“I don't feel any more pressure with Cheikhou going away," the Spaniard admitted. "But maybe I am lucky that I will get the chance to play."

"Last season I was on the bench," he stressed. "I needed to be ready every time I was called upon."

"Now I have my chance," Obiang added. "And I want to make the most of it."

Can go and win it

Like many across the globe Obiang is a keen admirer of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, and was admirer during his playing and managerial career at Barcelona.

Obiang stated that he is looking forward to facing Guardiola's side, but stated that he wants to put one over on his compatriot and lead the Hammers to FA Cup glory.

“I followed Pep when he played for Barcelona and then he played in Italy," he said. "It is easy to follow him because he is such a big manager and everyone knows about him."

"This is the only cup competition we are left in," the midfielder stated. "We want to play a good game on Friday."

"We seem to play well against the big teams," the 24-year-old. "Last season we had a lot of difficult games but we managed to reach the quarter-finals."

“I think we are a lot better this season and now we are trying to change something," Obiang concluded. "If we play well in this game I think we could go on to win the cup.”

West Ham United will take on Manchester City in the third round of the FA Cup at the London Stadium on Friday, January 6 with kick-off at 7:55pm GMT.

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.