West Ham United defender Alvaro Arbeloa has hailed the amazing atmosphere created by the club’s fans after making his Hammers debut in the EFL Cup in midweek.
The Spanish veteran joined Slaven Bilic’s men from Real Madrid over the course of the summer and is expected to be first choice at right-back once he gets his fitness up.
Although Arbeloa has not made a Premier League appearance as yet, the former Liverpool star featured in the 1-o win over Accrington Stanley on Wednesday night.
The former Spain international has lauded the atmosphere at the London Stadium and stated that he enjoyed stepping out for his new club.
“I am really happy to have made my debut and I am also very happy with the result because we needed to win this game. I am now looking forward to the next game,” Arbeloa told the club’s official website.
“It was brilliant to see Dimi score the free-kick right at the end and I thought we played much better in the second half and controlled the game. I thought we deserved to win.
“I don’t like to compare players but I have some really good team-mates with amazing quality. Lanzini is an amazing player and I think we have a really good squad. We also have good young players with a lot of quality.
“I thought the atmosphere was amazing, as it was when I came to my first game against Watford. I think I am going to enjoy playing in this stadium.
“We need to get back to winning ways in the league and that is the most important thing.
“We have two games at home and with the fans behind us we need to win and restore our confidence.”
Arbeloa is in contention to feature for the London club in the Premier League clash with Southampton in the Premier League this weekend.
West Ham’s defence this season has been sub-par and Bilic will hope that the Spaniard’s experience can help to shore up a thus far leaky rearguard.
