Mark Noble has told BBC Sport (28/12, 17:48) that the ‘terrific’ Jarrod Bowen displayed his quality when assisting Nikola Vlasic to help West Ham United beat Watford 4-1 on Tuesday.
The Hammers sealed their first win in four Premier League fixtures at Vicarage Road to stay within four-points of the top-four. David Moyes’ men had not claimed all three-points since beating Chelsea. They then drew with Burnley before losing to Arsenal and Southampton.
West Ham’s poor run seemed likely to continue after Emmanuel Dennis broke the deadlock on just four-minutes, too. But Bowen fed Tomas Soucek to equalise, before Said Benrahma soon added and Noble’s second-half penalty helped flip the scoreline.
West Ham struggled to settle early on against Watford, but grew into the game with Bowen producing a lively display. The winger regularly found pockets of space and poked through a perfectly weighted pass for Soucek’s equaliser.
Bowen additionally won West Ham’s penalty for Noble to double the Irons’ lead by reacting rapidly to Juraj Kucka trying to chest down Michail Antonio’s cross for Daniel Bachmann.
Noble hails Bowen after pulling the strings as West Ham beat Watford
But Noble hailed Bowen’s work assisting Vlasic’s late strike as the moment that showed the West Ham winger’s quality best. The 25-year-old breezed around Francisco Sierralta before pulling the ball back to the Croatian for his first Hammers goal.
Vlasic joined Noble and Bowen at West Ham on Deadline Day in August for £27m, plus add-ons up to £7.5m. The former CSKA Moscow maestro has now made 16 appearances so far.
Bowen, meanwhile, has made 27 of his 80 West Ham appearances in all competitions so far this season. He joined the Irons from Hull City for £22m in January 2020 and Noble hails the winger’s capture as Bowen now holds a key role in Moyes’ plans at the London Stadium.
“Bowen has been terrific,” Noble said. “You saw his quality for the last goal, he put it on a plate for Nicki. You know what you are going to get with Jarrod. He has been a fantastic signing for us, it is very important we keep him fit.”
Bowen’s assists, including winning Noble’s penalty, as West Ham beat Watford moved the Leominster-born star to 10 for the season. Nine have come in the Premier League, with seven in open-play – only Mohamed Salah (9) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (8) have more.
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