West Ham United Arthur Masuaku can be a massive threat from left-wing-back, as was shown against Tottenham Hotspur when he completed five successful dribbles.
However, he showed plenty of defensive fragility in the 3-3 draw, as he made one tackle while being dribbled past four times and giving away three fouls.
These sort of numbers are concerning and it is this lack of authority across the backline that cost us so dearly at the beginning of that match – before our late comeback rescued a point in dramatic fashion.
It was a completely different story against Manchester City though, as defensive resilience was the order of the day and Masuaku encapsulated that change.
The Democratic Republic of Congo international made a total of five tackles throughout the 90 minutes, while giving away one foul and being dribbled past just once. He also managed two clearances.
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It is this sort of consistency that meant the men in claret and blue were able to limit Pep Guardiola’s side to Phil Foden’s well taken goal, earning a point in the process.
To record these numbers against an attack as tricky as City’s, which had Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva predominantly playing on Masuaku’s side, can only be a positive sign.
This didn’t even require the 26-year-old to completely nullify his own threat, as he managed to complete two dribbles, while he managed to get a shot off – though that did go off target.
We know that Masuaku can cause problems going forward, if he is able to keep up this level of defensive performance then he can be a real asset for West Ham.
