Plenty of storylines, both positive and negative, have emerged from West Ham’s match at King Power Stadium at Leicester City. For a few West Ham players, redemption was that positive storyline.
Michail Antonio
The striker, winger, forward, fullback has been lost as of late trying to make an impact in Manuel Pellegrini’s team. He hasn’t scored outside of the Carabao Cup and is believed to be available come January for a transfer out of the club. While plenty of stories swirl around him, Antonio settled into a tough match quickly and earned a bit of redemption on the pitch.
Antonio was brought on in relief of Chicharito who started the game in due to Marko Arnautovic’s late illness which forced him from the matchday squad. Antonio’s substitution happened in the 61st minute; the situation and direction for him were dire -be an isolated ball chaser.
No one is better suited for that job than Antonio, however, as his muscle-bound frame support him in challenges and holding up the ball, while his legs allow him to sprint after the ball. Sure, he’s not the same blazing player he was a few seasons ago before the hamstring injuries, but he gave his all on the pitch which was encouraging if nothing else.
His finishing is still an issue but he put in a hard 30+ minutes of running and battling, playing his heart and legs out. West Ham supporters always say that they’ll take a hardworking loss if the players are giving their all, and Antonio showed he did that in this match.
Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez
I’m admittedly the first person who has put his name up for a January transfer but I’m starting to feel bad for the guy now. First, a late return from the World Cup and no time to get integrated into Pellegrini’s systems. Second, glandular fever which kept him out of training for weeks. Third, he gets a Premier League start and his captain gets a red card 38 minutes in.
It’s hard to feel bad for someone who is raking in cash for playing football, but I genuinely feel bad for Chicharito. He hasn’t done anything wrong in his time at West Ham but his three managers can’t seem to find a working spot for him in any system. His one opportunity has now been marred by Noble’s red card which pushed West Ham back on their heels for his 61 minutes on the pitch.
Why did he redeem himself then? Chicharito is not a solo striker let alone a ball chasing isolated striker but he put his head down and ran his legs off in this match like he was trying to earn a roster spot. Much like Antonio, Chicharito won me back a bit here with his effort and deserves the start against Spurs in the Carabao Cup match midweek.
He’s an extremely talented player and could work off of Grady Diangana and Felipe Anderson well, but we would actually need to see him fit and in the line up to assess that, wouldn’t we? Rest Arnie if you can and give Chicharito some real time against a tired, depelted Spurs team.
Arthur Masuaku
Having the mental fortitude to play in a revolving door caused by your poor play and your competition’s even poorer play is something special, but Masuaku has done just that all year. He is clearly above Cresswell in the pecking order at left-back and his play at Leicester showed why: when he’s having a quiet day all is well.
Leicester attacked down Pablo Zabaleta’s wing all match with Ricardo Pereira out of the starting line up so Masuaku got a bit of a break, but even when tested throughout the short-handed match Masuaku was good, and good is an improvement for him.
Look at the match as a building block – Masuaku didn’t make any catastrophic gaffs and put forward a positive performance in a strong team defensive effort. He was a lot more comfortable defending higher once Cresswell was brought in at left centre-back and he was effectively a wingback, which everyone in the world has seemed to deem his natural position.
Masuaku should be able to perform without the fear of Cresswell taking his job for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, he can take this as an opportunity to settle his game down and master his craft instead of getting complacent and danced defensively.