West Ham needs to change something in wake of their winless start of the season. It has been pretty clear that West Ham’s midfield has been the root of a lot of their early-season issues, so is it time to start a new pairing in defensive midfield?
In two matches we’ve seen two different formations. Pellegrini’s selection for Liverpool, a 4-2-3-1 formation, saw Declan Rice, Mark Noble, and Jack Wilshere all used in central midfield in an effort to clog up the middle of the pitch and slow down the Liverpool attack. The trio failed to stop much of anything and as a result, Rice lost his spot in the matchday squad.
Against Bournemouth Pellegrini opted for his favorite 4-2-2-2 formation that featured Noble and Wilshere in holding midfield with Snodgrass and Anderson out wide ahead of them in attacking midfield. There were no astounding successes in this match and West Ham supporters are yet again is left wondering what to do with the midfield.
The solution could lie within the squad already. There needs to be more of a solid core on the pitch and sitting two defensive midfielders should provide this, although it did fail against Liverpool. Naby Keita, James Milner, and Georginio Wijnaldum formed a solid midfield and should be more potent than what Arsenal can put forward.
Arsenal is dealing with a problem West Ham also is, an ungelled midfield occupied by a few newcomers. Lucas Torreira, the promising wunderkind signed this summer for Arsenal has come off the bench in both games this season, while Matteo Guendouzi fellow young player has started both matches. Along with Ozil, Xhaka, and Ramsey, Arsenal has options to change up their midfield, but with all of these new faces, chemistry will need time to settle.
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For West Ham, another new formation may be the way out of the ineffectiveness of their current midfield. 4-3-3; simple, direct, and three committed midfielders in the center of the pitch. Wilshere should keep his position simply based off of his abilities to get the ball and turn up the pitch. For Wilshere, he needs to be central with free roam capabilities; not too far forward with defensive coverage the priority.
So who should be the cemented two holding midfielders? Carlos Sanchez and Pedro Obiang. Both players were brought in/kept this summer for a reason, and both have had nobody on the team play so well that they don’t deserve a look.
Sanchez came off the bench late against Bournemouth and wasn’t really involved in the game. La Roca, as Sanches is known as, is a stalwart defender in holding midfield. Many had reservations or straight up anger about his signing because he didn’t perform consistently well with Aston Villa, and also took a red card in the World Cup for Colombia, but at this point, he deserves a look.
Despite these somewhat fresh memories, Sanchez has had a 15-year career in professional football. He should bring experience to the pitch and hopefully help settle down the team defensively. Sanchez is 32 years old so he isn’t a long-term solution, however, his promotion to the starting squad could provide a shock and some motivation to his competition.
As for Pedro Obiang at West Ham, he had a move back to Italy declined as Pellegrini wanted him to stay with the team. Last season saw Obiang miss eleven consecutive matches with a knee injury just days after scoring a world-class goal against Tottenham. An up-and-down season would be an understatement.
Obiang’s strength comes from his ability to tackle from any position. In 2016/17 he played 21 Premier League matches as a starter. Before missing the final nine games with an ankle injury he was putting in solid performances in midfield; he boasted a ridiculous 89% tackle success rate with 61 tackles. He also mixed in 33 interceptions, 29 clearances, 143 duels won, and only one error leading to goals.
Obiang has the talent, and at only 26 years old he is just entering the prime of his career. With more coaching and direction Obiang could catch his form from two seasons ago.
West Ham currently has midfield problems, it’s plainly obvious. And while Sanchez and Obiang may not be the first choices for Pellegrini the current first team selections have been underwhelming proving an opportunity. The benefit of Sanchez and Obiang is that their strengths lie in defensive midfield, so hopefully, if they get a first-team chance they can focus on what they do best and help clog up the midfield and protect the back line.