Domingos Quina started for West Ham against Arsenal on Tuesday night.
There will have been plenty of talking points to mull over between David Moyes and his coaching staff on Tuesday night after his West Ham United side proved impotent against a very weakened Arsenal side.
The Hammers crashed out of the Carabao Cup in the last eight of the competition as Danny Welbeck converted Mathieu Debuchy’s headed cross just before half-time to earn a slender 1-0 win.
Moyes fielded a strong side but also started a couple of players on the fringes of the first team, such as Joe Hart, Declan Rice and Javier Hernandez. He also gave Domingos Quina his first ever West Ham start.
The 18-year-old lined up alongside Pedro Obiang and Rice in midfield, but it soon became apparent that the two-time Portugal Under-20 international was largely out of his depth.
Quina had played just four times in the Hammers’ senior side beforehand, clocking up just 28 minutes and it showed as he struggled to maintain any rhythm against a weakened Gunners midfield of Francis Coquelin, Joe Willock and Mohamed Elneny.
With the Hammers boasting Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate as well as the two that started alongside Quina, Moyes has plenty of options available to him in the middle of the park. It should see him make a January decision on Quina.
Tuesday night’s performance will have made up Moyes mind. Instead of giving him a run in the first team, his disappointing performance should see him leave the club on loan until the end of the season.
At this stage in his career, Quina needs game time to reach the next level and that means leaving the London Stadium on loan as Moyes shared fans’ view that the midfielder had underperformed.
Joining a club in the Football League, preferably the Championship or towards the top of League One will give Quina an idea of what is expected of him as well as the confidence to return and have another crack at the first team.
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