Nuno singles out the unsung West Ham hero who’s ‘big, big help’ cannot be ignored

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Much of the pre-match build up ahead of West Ham’s trip to Manchester United on Thursday night was dominated by talk of set-pieces.

Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils had drawn level with Arsenal, having scored the joint-most set-piece goals in the Premier League with ten apiece.

Amorim talked up the ‘massive’ importance of corners, free-kicks and the occasional long-throw in his pre-match press conference. Considering that only Liverpool have conceded as many as West Ham United in the opening 13 matchdays, it felt pretty obvious where that Old Trafford clash was going to be won or lost.

In the end, there was indeed a decisive set-piece goal on Thursday night. But, in a real turn-up for the books, that 83rd minute equaliser was scored in the home net.

The outstanding Soungoutou Magassa opened his West Ham account as he swept home late on. The Premier League’s set-piece kings undone by a team who had conceded twice as many as they had scored going into the midweek round of fixtures.

Captain Jarrod Bowen helped set-up Magassa’s strike with a clever front-post flick-on. The skipper was quick to credit assistant coach Mark Robson for permitting him to hand over corner-taking responsibilities to substitute Andy Irving, in favour of creating chaos inside the penalty area.

At the other end, meanwhile, West Ham held Man United at arm’s length in many a dead-ball situation. And, as Nuno Espirito Santo said ahead of Sunday’s trip to bogey team Brighton and Hove Albion, do not even for a second underestimate the role Alphonse Areola played in another impressive rearguard performance.

Nuno Espirito Santo makes a special mention of West Ham United goalkeeper Alphonse Areola

In his defence, Graham Potter made the call to drop Mads Hermansen only four games into his West Ham career.

Nuno Espirito Santo followed in Potter’s footsteps by keeping the previously-maligned Areola between the sticks ahead of the £18 million summer signing from Leicester City.

At Old Trafford, the 32-year-old Frenchman’s presence again left a suitably sizeable impression.

Former England glovesman Paul Robinson cast serious doubt on Hermansen’s ability to command his penalty area after that 3-0 home defeat by Tottenham in September. While the slight, slender Hermansen tends to stay stuck on his line, Areola has no problem stomping out, knocking players left and right like pins in a bowling alley, before battering the ball clear with a flying punch Superman himself would be proud of.

There were a few occasions against Man United when Areola dealt decisively with whipped deliveries into his vicinity.

“We are trying, we are trying [to improve our defensive and attacking set-pieces]. First of all is [for us] to realise that it was a problem that we are slowly trying to fix,” Nuno said during his press conference on Friday.

“We had conceded many goals from set-pieces before. Now I think we are getting stronger and stronger.

“The way I think is to try and take advantage of our offensive game. The situation with Jarrod, he did an amazing job [creating Magassa’s equaliser], but that’s the point. You know how important the set-pieces are in the game.

“They are basic and fundamental for any kind of team and we are working, working, working, working, repeating, repeating, trying to find [ways to score] in terms of offensive [set-pieces with] the delivery and the consistency of the delivery.

“In terms of defensively, [we are] trying to mark the strong opponents that we are going to find. In these days you know how much importance there is to defending your box.

“I think Alphonse is giving a big, big help in that aspect also.”

‘Incredible’ Areola could be about to win a Premier League award

West Ham have not conceded a single set-piece goal in their last five matches, after letting in ten during their first nine matches of the campaign. In that run, the Hammers have picked up an impressive and potentially transformative eight points from a possible fifteen.

Alphonse Areola earned a Premier League nomination, with November’s Save of the Month award up for grabs. His sensational reflex stop to deny former West Ham target Eli Junior Kroupi in that 2-2 draw at AFC Bournemouth is likely to end up in the end-of-season running too.

Even home head coach Andoni Iraola lauded an ‘incredible’ Areola display at the Vitality Stadium. His tally of ten saves that day are the most made by any goalkeeper in the top-flight so far this season.