After their incredible result against Chelsea, West Ham followed that up with an impressive 0-0 draw with Arsenal. Who were their best players?
5. Mark Noble
Noble is so very Moyes. All grit and determination and heart wrapped around his sleeve like a captain’s armband straining to contain his bulging bicep as he fist pumps and yells “COME ON!” trying to whip the fans into a frenzy.
Noble was great against Arsenal, showing the kind of bite and tenacity that is just what the Hammers needed to level the playing field. It was pure tone-setting Moyesian excellence. It was a throwback to 2015/16, when Noble was playing at a genuinely excellent level. If he keeps this up Moyes could help guide West Ham to survival.
4. Pedro Obiang
One of the key parts of becoming a solid defence is finding a player who can adequately protect the back four. A good defensive midfielder is transformative both in terms of stopping and starting attacks.
Pedro Obiang had struggled to really hit his top level despite being an immense talent, but under David Moyes’ regime he has found himself excelling. Moyes favours a defensively conservative system, so that plays into Obiang’s skill-set.
Against Arsenal he had 4 interceptions (the joint-most on the pitch), 2 blocks and was surprisingly good with the ball too, completing 3/3 dribble attempts.
3. Angelo Ogbonna
Every great defensive performance needs a powerhouse defender to stand tall (often literally) and get the ball way the hell out of danger. West Ham’s man for that job against Arsenal was Angelo Ogbonna.
The Italian international won 1/1 tackles, made 3 blocks, 2 interceptions but completed a stupendous 11 effective clearances for West Ham. No other player got into double figures, and clearing the ball so consistently in the air against Olivier Giroud is no mean feat. Ogbonna’s offered glimpses at the potential he’s carried around with him since his youth, and West Ham will be hoping he can continue this going forward.
2. Adrián
David Moyes dropping Joe Hart for Adrian was a courageous, almost foolhardy move. And who knows if it will pay off long-term (probably not) but in terms of right now? It’s working superbly. Adrian has come in an excelled against Manchester City, Chelsea and now Arsenal, keeping clean sheets against the two London sides.
Adrián was great against Arsenal, collecting crosses, sweeping things up and making 3 saves as Arsenal attempted to prise their way through Wes Ham’s defensive block. Even if they managed to do so, the Spaniard was West Ham’s unyielding last line of defence.
1. Marko Arnautovic
It’s easy to imagine a striker who didn’t score as having a poor game, but this was as emphatic a performance from Marko Arnautovic as you could imagine. The Austrian was a colossal force in attack for West Ham.
However the ball was sent up to him, Arnautovic battled with the Arsenal defenders and made it happen. And when he had the ball at his feet he routinely tormented his opponents with some devastating dribbling. Arnautovic won 5/6 attempted dribbles and even then found time to get back in defence and make 3 effective clearances.
Although Javier Hernandez almost stole his (and everyone’s) thunder with a last minute strike that hit the bar, Arnautovic was clearly the best player on the pitch at The London Stadium, even though he was needlessly offside when he headed a cross into the back of the net. The future is bright!
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