Mohammed Kudus paid a gracious tribute to West Ham United team-mate Nayef Aguerd after a ‘wonderful’ assist during the 3-1 Carabao Cup hammering of Arsenal on Wednesday night.
This was certainly quite the tonic to Sunday’s insipid home defeat to Everton. If that performance was a cure for insomnia, then the sight of West Ham sending Arsenal packing while setting up a quarter-final clash with Liverpool poured a bucket of ice-cold water over the heads of those counting down the days until David Moyes’ dismissal, the Conference League champions again saving their best for cup competitions.
Mohammed Kudus’ brilliant 50th minute finish, meanwhile, will do little to dampen the enthusiasm surrounding West Ham’s marquee summer signing, though the former Ghana ace was keen to point out that his job was made a damn sight easier by a fine Aguerd ball in the build up.
Mohammed Kudus scores as West Ham stun Arsenal
“The pass was so good that I didn’t have to do much,” Kudus tells the West Ham website. “It almost ended up being in the box, so I had to just take my touch inside and shoot. So thanks to Nayef for that wonderful pass!”
Moyes has been wary of throwing Kudus in at the deep end since his £38 million move from Ajax. But, with three goals already for the Hammers despite his limited game time, the clamour for Kudus to become one of the first names on the Scot’s team sheet will only grow, especially with Michail Antonio and Danny Ings struggling for form.
Hammers eyeing cup glory again
“As forward players, you want to get the ball in the net and you also want to entertain the fans, so that’s what I’m here to do,” the Ghanaian adds, comments which will be music to the ears of a fanbase who idolised the similarly mercurial Paolo di Canio and Dimitri Payet during their time in claret-and-blue.
“Thanks to the fans for their support. It’s been amazing, and even when it’s not going well, they are still pushing and giving us energy.
“From the start of the competition, we’ve been dreaming because winning a title is part of it. We don’t know who we’ll get, but we’ll take it one step at a time and game-by-game.
“This is a very good boost for the game coming up at the weekend.”
West Ham will now face Liverpool with a place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals on the line on December 19th.
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