West Ham United got the new Premier League season off to the worst possible start, with a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Manchester United.
A brace from Romelu Lukaku and goals from Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba brought Slaven Bilic’s side crashing down to earth after what seemed a successful summer of recruitment.
The likes of Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez could do little to prevent the kind of scoreline Hammers fans have long been accustomed to on visits to Old Trafford over the years.
One player who stood out for West Ham for all the wrong reasons was fans’ favourite Pedro Obiang.
Pedro Obiang had his worst game for West Ham in the season-opener at Old Trafford
The classy central midfielder was on his way to being crowned Hammer of the Year last season until injury struck and ruled him out for the last few months of the campaign.
The Spaniard has never let the Hammers down before and his presence usually has a hugely positive impact on the team’s performance.
At Old Trafford, though, he seemed distracted and out of sorts as he uncharacteristically conceded possession on a number of occasions, most notably for Jose Mourinho’s side’s opening goal.
Many pointed the finger of blame at Zabaleta who bombed forward before Obiang lost the ball to Nemanja Matic in the middle of the park.
But given Obiang’s general play was there a wider issue interfering… the transfer window?
Bilic has been linked with a club record move for Portugal and Sporting Lisbon star William Carvalho. And that would put direct pressure on Obiang’s place in the team, just weeks after signing a new long term deal with the club.
While most West Ham supporters insist Mark Noble should be the one concerned over his place in the side, Obiang’s display won’t have done his confidence any favours, particularly if – as is expected – Carvalho is signed for more than £30 million this week.
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