Mark Noble has been criticised relentlessly by some West Ham United fans recently but started again in the Premier League clash with Arsenal.
With West Ham United starting life slowly under David Moyes, the fans were understandably tossing and turning thinking about the prospect of three fearsome fixtures in a row against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal.
But it’s a credit to Moyes’ improving side that West Ham more than held their own against three of the Premier League’s biggest sides. After being narrowly defeated by City, West Ham edged out the champions 1-0 on Saturday and then restricted Arsenal to a goalless draw on Wednesday night.
And much of the credit for a fine performance against Arsene Wenger’s Gunners must go to midfield general Mark Noble – for once.
The long-serving captain has been the subject of intense criticism from some supporters over the last year despite his never-say-die attitude and his clear commitment to the cause.
But Noble delivered arguably his finest performance of the season against Arsenal, rolling back the years to put in a dominant display in the centre of the park. He nearly set up a dramatic winning goal too with a lovely reverse pass to Javier Hernandez, who clattered a strike off the underside of the crossbar.
Noble even filled in to good effect on the right when required.
And if Moyes is able to build on this impressive run of results, he will need his captain marvel to produce this kind of performance on a more consistent basis.
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