West Ham United goalkeeper Alphonse Areola admits he had seen Dango Ouattara try a panenka penalty before.
On Monday evening, Ouattara missed a penalty for Brentford against West Ham United as the Irons progressed into the FA Cup quarter-finals.
The Bees forward attempted an audacious panenka but was made to look foolish when Areola simply stood still and caught the ball with ease.
Who was West Ham’s BEST PLAYER against Brentford?! 🤔
After the game, the West Ham goalkeeper opened up on the thought process behind his save.
Speaking to West Ham’s official YouTube channel, the Frenchman said: “Credit to the guys that took the pens and to the team that were unbelievable as well [with a] positive attitude.
“Credit to the ‘keepers, we worked together on the pens just before the game. The secret yeah, we have seen him chipping the ball in a different game and tonight was the night for me.”
Kante has just given Nuno something to think about! 🇫🇷
What did you make of his performance?
Alphonse Areola’s record at saving penalties
That was the second panenka attempt that Areola has faced at West Ham this season, with Danny Welbeck also missing one during Brighton’s 2-2 draw at the London Stadium back in December.
Ironically, Areola was also in goal for Fulham when Ademola Lookman attempted one here in east London back in 2020, a failed attempt that was surely much worse than Ouattara’s.
Not including shootouts, Areola has saved two of the 16 penalties he’s faced since joining West Ham in 2021, signing on loan from PSG before joining permanently a year later.
Alphonse Areola looks certain to be West Ham’s FA Cup goalkeeper
While Areola has lost his place to Mads Hermansen at West Ham in the Premier League at least, the former Real Madrid stopper now looks like being Nuno Espirito Santo’s FA Cup goalkeeper.
Indeed, Hermansen played against QPR in the third round, but Areola has played the two games since without putting much of a foot wrong.
As such, the prospect of him playing against Leeds in the next round does feel like a distinct possibility.
For West Ham, having two such strong goalkeepers on the books can only be a good thing.
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