Joe Cole believes West Ham United’s problems started with Arthur Masuaku and Arsenal doubling up on the full-back on Wednesday, while speaking on BT Sport 1 (15/12, 21:56).
The Irons suffered a 2-0 defeat the Emirates Stadium to fall behind the Gunners in the race for fourth-place. They now trail their London rivals by a point and have also only won once in their last six Premier League fixtures, with a shock 3-2 victory over title-hopefuls Chelsea.
West Ham boss David Moyes had to play Masuaku at left-back at Arsenal as he deals with numerous defensive injuries. Aaron Cresswell has missed four games with a back injury and failed to pass a late fitness test. While Ben Johnson is also sidelined with a hamstring issue.
The Hammers are also without Kurt Zouma (hamstring) and Angelo Ogbonna (cruciate) for the long-term. And Moyes is now down to just three fit and available senior defenders in Craig Dawson, Issa Diop and Masuaku after Vladimir Coufal was sent off in north London.
Cole pinpoints Masuaku among West Ham’s problems in Arsenal defeat
Moyes was hopeful that Cresswell could return from injury at the Emirates on Wednesday night. The West Ham boss will now be increasingly keen for his comeback after Cole pinpointed Masuaku as a player Arsenal sought to exploit and enjoyed success against.
But Cole also notes how Pablo Fornals and Manuel Lanzini gave Masuaku little help dealing with a lively Bukayo Saka.
“David come here with an idea of being solid and try and nick something on the break,” he said. “There were signs that they could do it. I thought Dawson acquitted himself very well [with] some important tackles in the first-half.
“Saka was getting too much joy down the right-hand side; they were doubling up on Masuaku. I think that little trio of Lanzini, Fornals and Masuaku didn’t quite get to grips with Saka and I think, tactically, that was where the problems were for West Ham.”
Saka ran Masuaku ragged with little support from Lanzini
Lanzini, particularly, offered Masuaku little defensive support as the West Ham full-back struggled to deal with Arsenal star Saka. The England winger was playing at his best and looked dangerous whenever the Gunners fed him the ball.
Saka ran Masuaku ragged, with the £6m West Ham defender rarely able to lay a glove on the Arsenal product. Moyes will likely be desperate to now see Cresswell return to fitness ahead of the Irons hosting Norwich on Saturday.
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