It’s now time to analyse all of the main points of discussion from last night’s thumping of Bolton Wanderers as we made it back to back Premier League and Carabao Cup victories at The London Stadium for the first time since last October.
Masuaku Gets Off The Mark With Screamer
One of the main highlights of yesterday evening’s cup triumph was surely Arthur Masuaku’s stunning late strike for his first Hammers goal.
The Frenchman picked up the ball from Andre Ayew and set it out of his feet to unleash a wondrous strike that never looked like it was going anywhere other than the top corner.
The venomous effort prompted a gasp of amazement all around The London Stadium and was the DR Congo International’s first ever goal in Claret & Blue.
Additionally, it complemented a superb all-around performance from the left-back, as he made up for a less than flattering display at Old Trafford on the opening day.
There is no doubt that Masuaku is now once again knocking on the door for a First-Team spot giving Slaven Bilic a selection dilemma just like most of last season.
Arnie Enjoys London Stadium Bow
Club-record signing Marko Arnautovic appeared in a Hammers shirt for the first time at The London Stadium against The Trotters as he earned Man of the Match with a super display.
Aside from striking fear into Wanderers defenders for the entirety, The number 7 weighed in with two excellent assists on the night that he redeemed himself from last month’s hot-headed red card against Southampton.
One man who gave him high praise after the full-time whistle was Manager Slaven Bilic. The Croat proclaimed: “I think he was desperate to do well considering what happened last month and this was a good beginning of a comeback for him”.
However, “Super Slav” was also incessant on shedding light upon the Austrian’s complacency “He did do well but I want him to do more, he has that quality and has that extra. But, sometimes he has happy moments where he gets a bit happy with what he has done”.
The former Croatia Boss also agreed that an example of one of those moments of “happiness” was when he tried to lob Bolton keeper Mark Howard as appose to an easy one-on-one finish.
Nevertheless, Arnautovic certainly turned heads with a superb performance and one would feel that he will be getting a first home start on Saturday against Tottenham Hotspur.
Sakho Back In Favour On And Off The Pitch
Another main Talking Point from E20 was the comeback Game of controversial forward Diafra Sakho, three weeks after he tried to force a Deadline Day move to France.
Last night was his first start in Claret & Blue since the Saga that included a trip to Chelmsford Racecourse, visits to both The London Stadium and Rush Green where there was no one to meet him and an eventual stay in East London.
However, Sakho was on fine form against The Trotters to score our second with a delightfully delicate finish and contribute greatly to our first win in eight against Phil Parkinson’s men.
Again, Bilic was quick to end doubts about The Player’s attitude stating that it is “Spot on” and that he is “Very motivated”, to the surprise of many Reporters in The Press Conference Room.
So, with harmony seeming to have been restored in all of the aspects of Sakho’s Game, will there be a fairy-tale ending to this story with a return to the kind of form that he won awards with during the 2014/2015 campaign?
Young Talents Shine In Stratford
On a night where the big stars dominated the headlines in East London, there were also several starlets that made a huge impression on The London Stadium faithful.
The most notable of those youngsters was surely young Montenegrin International Sead Haksabanovic making his First-Team debut, but others included Nathan Holland achieving the same feat as Haksabanovic and young Portuguese prodigy Domingos Quina.
Haksabanovic, 18 and signed from Halmstads BK in the summer for around £3 Million, made his first start and in doing so looked very bright indeed as he constantly assaulted the visitors’ defence along with Arnautovic.
Meanwhile, Holland, who has turned many a head for The U23’s this year, replaced Haksabanovic in the 62nd minute and had one clear sight of goal when he was played through but Mark Howard came out to smother.
Quina has featured under Slaven Bilic sporadically as a winger in The Europa League and in this Competition, weighing in with another impressive showing in the final third after a great summer in Georgia with Portugal U19’s.
Bilic was also quick to praise his young talent, including Declan Rice who has been with The First-Team in this campaign, stating: “Declan is only young, but he has a brain and concentration as if he were 30-years-old”.
Meanwhile, The Boss also added: “Haksabanovic looked very good, it is difficult in his first Game but he is very mature and he had help from the others around him, as did young Dom Quina and Nathan Holland. Those four have a very bright future”.
Another point of discussion recently has been the best Position in which to play Rice, the youngster can play in either midfield or defence. But, Bilic firmly believes that his best role is as a centre-back.
“Declan can play both positions, he is naturally a centre-back but has enough stamina and strength to play as a holding midfielder. If I had to choose I would say centre-back, but I don’t see anything that he doesn’t have, to be a really good midfielder”.
Despite, the array of young talent that is available to Bilic, you would still feel that such is the squad depth this season, their chances will be limited in the first team.
So, with all of the main talking points from yesterday evening’s triumph discussed, what will we be talking about come Saturday afternoon? After what is poised to be a cracking London Derby at The London Stadium.
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