West Ham defender Aaron Cresswell has had some criticism over the last few seasons, but now is finding his feet in his new role.
On Sunday evening West Ham completed a memorable comeback against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. While Manuel Lanzini stole the headlines with his 94th-minute rocket, Aaron Cresswell continued to show that he still deserves his place in the team.
The 30-year-old defender has struggled for consistency for the last couple of seasons since his bad injury a couple of years ago. This injury that Cresswell sustained saw him lose a lot of his pace and hunger for a tackle, meaning he was often caught out by Premier League attackers.
This inconsistency led to fans calling for him to be dropped and in some cases even sold, in order to replace him with someone younger. But that change may have been delayed because of Cresswell’s recent performances.
In David Moyes new system, Cresswell is playing as a left-centre-back in a back five. This positional change has given the defender more protection with Angelo Ogbonnna and Arthur Masuaku on either side of him.
This protection that Ogbonna gives means that Cresswell is not completely exposed, especially with extra cover provided by Masuaku. The Englishman also returns the favour for the DR Congo international, who has defensive issues of his own.
The two full-backs have developed a system between them which has solidified what was once West Ham’s weakest point. This solidity was demonstrated against Wolves. The defensive duo marked Adama Traore out of the game and nullified his pace and strength, something that few defences have been able to do.
There has definitely been a strengthing to the Hammers defences by this switch. The club only allowed two shots on goal in 180 minutes against Wolves and Leicester City. Spurs did put three goals past the defence but targeted the right-side as it appeared to be the more profitable route to goal.
The other benefit Cresswell has received from the change of system is the boost to his attacking contributions. The 30-year-old no longer is required to make storming overlapping runs, that responsibility is given to the faster and younger Masuaku. Instead, Cresswell is making intelligent underlapping runs.
These runs are allowing Cresswell to pick up the ball earlier and make crosses from deep. The deeper crosses have always been a key attribute of the defenders, and he has already picked up three assists in the Premier League this season. Last season the 30-year-old did not manage a single assist.
The revitalisation of Cresswell is a huge benefit to David Moyes and the West Ham team, which seems to be flourishing in its new system.