West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has likened his star midfielder Dimitri Payet to former Manchester United and Real Madrid playmaker David Beckham.

Bilic compared the Frenchman to Beckham because of the multiple free kicks that he has scored this season for both club and country, including three in the last month against Manchester United, Russia and Crystal Palace.

"They are both great free-kick takers," Bilic told reporters ahead of Saturday's visit of Arsenal in the Premier League. "You can't say that anyone was better than Beckham at taking free kicks.

"But then again you can say the same thing about Dimitri this season. In no time we can name five or six great ones.

"The last one was unbelievable. Then for France, [at] Old Trafford and then [against] Blackburn and Bournemouth. It all happened in a couple of months. The tempo he is putting them in is amazing."

West Ham are in the race for a top-four finish this season as they sit sixth, four points behind Manchester City in fourth, with seven matches of the Premier League season remaining.