West Ham United beat Manchester United 3-1 in Saturday’s Premier League clash at the London Stadium with Felipe Anderson and Marko Arnautovic scoring.
Things change quickly in football and that has never been more apparent than at West Ham United. Just a few weeks ago, the pressure was rising on Manuel Pellegrini after the Chilean lost all four of his first Premier League games in charge of the London giants.
But since the international break, The Hammers have won away at Everton, ended Chelsea’s 100 per cent record and, on Saturday, battered Manchester United 3-1 at the London Stadium.
Suddenly, Pellegrini is the toast of the town while the oft-criticised Mark Noble has come on leaps and bounds in recent weeks. And, speaking to Jim White on talkSPORT (1 October, 12pm), Danny Murphy has lauded the upturn of West Ham’s long-serving captain, who has been excellent since being paired with Declan Rice and Pedro Obiang.
“Mark Noble, who many had written off, it really suits him playing in that three,” Murphy said of Noble, who struggled in a two-man midfield with Jack Wilshere in the early weeks of the season.
“I managed to play years more than I thought because my manager put legs around me. If you can do that with Noble with calmness and ability to organise…”
The influential Marko Arnautovic continued his superb run of form against Jose Mourinho’s side too, scoring his fourth goal in just six games after missing the Chelsea draw through injury.
Arnautovic was transformed from a winger into a centre-forward during David Moyes’ time at the London Stadium last season and Murphy has lauded the former Stoke City star as well as the £40 million summer signing Felipe Anderson, who opened his scoring in England against United.
“West ham have found an absolute gem, Moyes deserves a lot of credit. Anderson looks a terrific player. It suits them playing on the counter with that pace now.”
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