Felipe Anderson is under the radar but effective for West Ham

West Ham’s leading man offensively heading into the 2018/19 season was Marko Arnautovic. Fast forward to March and newcomer Felipe Anderson has taken on the role of playmaker and master offensive producer, even when he’s quiet.

Let’s get the statistics out in the open first.

Felipe Anderson leads the team with eight goals, passes with 1404, is second in assists with four, third in shots with 44, and second in tackles with 73. The man is a machine and his early season defensive struggles seem to have inspired a more well-rounded player on the pitch.

He’s been outstanding this season for West Ham

despite him and the team having a rather atrocious start to the season. As good as he’s been, Anderson has benefitted from a motivated team who emphasizes offensive, possession-based football.

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Aaron Cresswell has been instrumental in this. The idea of Anderson overlapping with Arthur Masuaku has West Ham supporters excited before the season started, however his drop off in (limited) defensive play and ability to contribute offensively this season saw this slip away.

Enter Aaron Cresswell, who after yet again more injuries, returned to form and looks very solid. He is splitting corner kick and free kick duties with Snodgrass, Anderson, and Lanzini taking pressure off of him which could be a net positive. In lieu of that, Cresswell has focused more on passing, overlapping and pressuring down the wing with Felipe Anderson and they chemistry has been awesome. Certainly, Cress’ resurgence has helped stabilize Anderson.

Likewise, Manuel Lanzini returning to the team and Samir Nasri being brought in have both positively impacted Anderson. Both players are amazing in possession and both players are elite passers which provide Anderson an option (or two) to play off of into the middle of the pitch.

Robert Snodgrass acted as the early season passing partner with Anderson. With Nasri and Lanzini both back, Snodgrass falls back in the depth chart but has played a massive role in igniting Anderson and benefitting from the Brazilian baller himself.

Anderson showed off his passing/crossing in the Huddersfield where he picked out Chicharito on a beautifully weighted short cross. The ball was nodded in and West Ham stole the points. I groaned when the corner was taken short by Cresswell, especially after Ogbonna scored on a corner minutes prior, but boy was I wrong. Granted, I didn’t see Anderson unmarked at the top of the box.

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Anderson hasn’t been on the scoresheet as consistently as he had through December and January, but that doesn’t mean he has been ineffective. With the international break now upon us and a Brazilian callup earned, Anderson can come back and continue to grow as West Ham’s offensive lynchpin.