5 Lessons Learned From West Ham’s First Premier League Win of the Season

Yarmolenko and Arnautovic could be a perfect combo

One of the big issues we’ve all noted in the opening games was that Arnautovic has been so isolated that even when the ball has reached him and he’s playing well there’s very little chance he can actually do much with it. However this weekend he finally looked like he was being supported by the side. A big part of that was the introduction of Yarmolenko.

Although he managed to lose the ball 8 (Yes, 8) times the Ukrainian added a direct element to the Hammers right hand side. Although Snodgrass has been playing well he’s a little more careful and that means that sometimes he doesn’t quite get the ball forward quick enough. The supporting run he made for his first goal, and the beautiful strike for his second all point to the Ukrainian potentially being pivotal for the Hammers.

The other big point that should help this combo, is that Arnautovic seems to genuinely like the Ukrainian. I know we don’t get to see too much off of the pitch or their day to day lives, but from the interactions on the pitch it does seem as though they do like each other. As anyone who’s played even Sunday league football will tell you, you play better when you’re happy with those around you.