West Ham duo feature in team of the week and team of the month!
By Adam Smith
West Ham got off to a rocky start against Manchester City to start the season. After their opening match, however, the Hammers haven’t lost and now have two team of the week players, one of which cracked Europe’s best lineup!
West Ham have put together a solid run of fixtures following their embarrassing season-opening loss to Manchester City 5-0. A nervy 1-1 draw with Brighton opened the way for a Watford win, Newport win in the Carabao Cup, and an impressive 2-0 win over Norwich City.
Along with solid team performances, seven points, and progression in the League Cup, West Ham saw some impressive individual performances. To note, Arthur Masuaku and Felipe Anderson are the recent additions for the team of the week.
Felipe Anderson’s nutmegging performance and Masuaku’s dominant play up the wing earned them 8+ ratings with Anderson’s 8.3 and Masuaku’s impressive 8.8. It was only two strong performance from Roberto Firmino and Sergio Aguero that kept Sebastien Haller off the list, too, tempting us with a West Ham triumvirate on the Premier League team of the week.
Masuaku’s Premier League best 8.8 defensive rating got him into the WhoScored.com European team of the week, as well. The site noted that he “assisted one of the goals… averages 4.3 tackles per game and is completing three dribbles per game” when justifying his extremely high ranking.
Masuaku’s showing against Norwich City actually saw him take the throne as the highest-ranked defender in Europe for the week. He topped Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard (8.7), Liverpool’s Virgil VanDijk (8.0), and Angers’ Thomas (8.0).
It’s a strong showing from the Hammers left-sided players. Both Masuaku and Anderson earned their big ratings by dancing past Norwich City, but the month-long progression and performance of the team as a whole is really impressive. It should be noted, too, that Sebastien Haller has been ranked the Premier League’s fourth-best forward for the opening month of the season!
Can these Hammers sustain their high level of play moving into September? If not there are a bunch of other stars who can step up in their absence. It’s a situation we’re not used to as supporters of this club, but West Ham have a strong and exciting attack that is as deep as it is potent.