In recent weeks West Ham have been plagued by injuries, first Dimitri Payet and Enner Valencia in the Everton game then Sakho picked up an injury against West Brom. Lanzini has now picked up a knock that could keep him out of action for up to 6 weeks and Victor Moses is side-lined for 6 weeks. It is fair to say, that West Ham, much like Arsenal, have been unfortunate with regards to injuries.
All 5 of these players are attacking players and this therefore means that West Ham’s attacking options are limited. However, the one glimmer of hope in relation to attackers comes in the form of Mauro Zarate.
Besides the poor miss in the game against Manchester United, Zarate has played well this season, and he looks to be the skilful and creative player we saw glimpses of last season. The question is, can the Argentinian forward step up and become a consistent performer who scores and assists goals?
I have faith in the South American striker. I feel that playing in behind Andy Carroll, he could be quite effective and could bring the target man into the game more. Hopefully Lanzini isn’t out for 6 weeks because the two attackers were building up an exciting partnership, which could provide goals and assists in the absence of Dimitri Payet.
I recall being at last season’s home game against Newcastle, a game we won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Aaron Cresswell. In the second half, Zarate came on as a substitute and he changed the complexion of the game.
Mauro actually took players on and looked positive with the ball. He has looked like this so far in this campaign, and if the club are to start winning games again and maintain a good league position, Zarate is the man to help the team do exactly that.
The former Lazio player has flare which could cause the Stoke defence trouble. He can make chances quite easily if he plays to the standard that he has demonstrated at times this season, he brings other players into the game which could be crucial coming up against a confident Stoke side.
It is very frustrating when a club suffers injuries to such influential players, especially injuries to players such as Lanzini and Payet who can create something from nothing, turn a game on its head with one pass or one skill move.
As I have said previously, in the absence of these two playmakers, Zarate can become the player who the team turn to and can provide a goal and or assist to help the team win matches. Currently the attacking options for West Ham aren’t particularly inspiring. Jelavic isn’t a bad squad player, Carroll looks lethargic, Antonio is yet to prove himself in the Premier League and Bilic has resorted to using Kouyate in a more advanced role.
Ultimately, Mauro Zarate is the shining light in the absence of other attacking players, he is the man who will hopefully score the team goals, and bring players such as Andy Carroll more energy and chances to score.
