West Ham United are represented in the latest Premier League team of the week that has been selected by BBC pundit Garth Crooks following the clash with Watford.
Actually Garth is now down as a ‘Football Analyst’ these days, a posh term for a pundit then!
The performances by Pablo Zabaleta and Marko Arnautovic in the two nil victory over Watford at the weekend at the London Stadium was enough to earn them a place in the side alongside the other, in the opinion of the former Spurs striker anyway, most impressive performers in the topflight over the latest weekend.
I think we’ll already know ourselves, and not just based on the latest performance, why Crooks, we’ll also not argue with it, selected the duo as part of his team but explaining his choice he told the BBC.
Zabaleta:
‘Zabaleta’s days at Manchester City are gone, but this seasoned professional still has a lot left in the tank. Against the much younger Richarlison, Zabaleta had this young pup in his pocket for much of the game. The Argentine was rock solid against a player who has proved to be very dangerous on occasions this season.’
Arnautovic:
‘All players want to be liked, and Marko Arnautovic is no different. Fans tend not to like Arnautovic because he has the ability to embarrass the opposition. Arnautovic is moody, unpredictable, passionate and exciting all at the same time. Some of that we witnessed against Watford, and to top it all he can, on any given day, cause the opposition great embarrassment. Ask former Stoke boss Mark Hughes.’
It’s always good to see the club represented in this way, and well played to both for their recognition, but the most important thing about the weekend was of course the points.
Full Team:
May Ryan (Brighton), Pablo Zabaleta (West Ham United), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur), Jose Izquierdo (Brighton), Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton), Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City), Marko Arnautovic (West Ham United), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool).
