Towards the end of last season, West Ham fans were beginning to question whether they had seen the best of Lukasz Fabianski.
At 35-years-old, the former Hammer of the Year, Lukasz Fabianski’s mistakes against the likes of Brighton and Liverpool were uncharacteristic of the Polish international and were inadvertently costing West Ham points in a tight relegation battle.
Having managed to survive, however, the Hammers have started the current Premier League campaign on fire and currently sit in sixth place on 20 points after 12 games – the most they have managed in that timeframe since the famous 2015/2016 season.
A big part of that success is having the old Fabianski back who looks as solid in the West Ham goal as ever.
With four clean sheets to his name so far, he – aided by his impressive defence – has formed a strong backbone to this Hammers side, which gives the platform for the attacking players to score goals and ultimately win games.
Fabianski – like West Ham – sits sixth in the goalkeeper’s table for most saves this season, which shows that whilst the overall solidity of the team has improved having only conceded 15 goals, he is still being kept busy on a weekly basis.
His ruled-out penalty save against Leeds United on Friday would have also been his second of the season were it not for the pickiness of the controversial VAR system.
With some obvious candidates – the likes of Declan Rice, Angelo Ogbonna and Jarrod Bowen – being early frontrunners for Hammer of the Year, Fabianski is quietly but assuredly going about his business between the sticks, and is almost certainly more than happy to let others take all of the plaudits whilst he continues to age like a fine wine in goal.