West Ham’s plucky FA Cup third-round defeat to two late Arsenal goals, resurrected the opinion from media pundits that West Ham are too good to go down.   But with the January transfer window now underway, manager Gianfranco Zola has already seen stories emerge that his better players are attracting the interest of “bigger” clubs.   Off the pitch, it has emerged that there are four separate parties interested in buying the club from current owners CB Holdings.

An FA Cup mini-shock was on the cards at Upton Park on Sunday, as the Hammers went into the last fifteen minutes of their third-round tie against Arsenal, leading through Alessandro Diamanti’s first-half stoppage-time strike.

However, late strikes from Aaron Ramsey and Eduardo halted all thoughts of a lucrative FA Cup run. The club will have to look at other methods to solve their on-going financial crisis.

Diamanti is among a number of star players linked with a January transfer window move away from Upton Park, with Arsenal also reportedly renewing their interest in the currently-injured frontman Carlton Cole.

Diamanti has dismissed reports linking him with a move back to his native Italy to join Serie A giants Milan. He said: “I know nothing about these stories that I want to go to Milan. To be honest they do not even interest me.”

The Sun reported this week that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is interested in signing Carlton Cole to boost his ailing strikeforce, with Robin Van Persie a long-term injury and fellow frontman Nicklas Bendtner also struggling with fitness.

The report suggests that Arsenal are prepared to offer “crisis club West Ham” £9m, and that the Hammers “would not stand in the way of his departure at the right price.

Cole has the added advantage for Wenger that he is available for the Gunners’ Champions League campaign.

There are four interested parties in buying West Ham, according to various newspaper reports.

Despite being subject to a confidentiality agreement, former Birmingham owner David Sullivan has consistently let it be known that he expects his joint bid with former Blues colleague David Gold to be accepted by CB Holdings “next week.”

However, long-trailed bids from the London-based financial analysts ‘Intermarket’ and Malaysian businessman and Air Asia founder Tony Fernandes are still expected.

And the Guardian reported this week that an “unidentified North American cash-rich investor with other sports interests” had submitted buy-out proposals which appeared to find favour with Straumur, the Icelandic bank who are CB Holdings’ majority shareholders.

Clark Hunt, owner of MSL clubs Columbus Crew and FC Dallas, fits the description and was linked with a move for the Hammers in August. But among those similarly-linked to such a move include failed former Hammers chairman Eggert Magnusson and…Portsmouth “owner” Ali Al-Faraj.

Meanwhile, both West Ham and Millwall are contesting the FA charges arising from crowd disturbances in and around their Carling Cup clash in August, in a three-day hearing at Wembley Stadium this week.

The hearing’s findings are expected on or after January 8^th.