Pablo Zabaleta says he is enjoying his new role at wing-back following his summer move from Manchester City to West Ham.
The Argentine joined the Hammers on a free transfer early in the summer after his contract at the Etihad expired, and has since been an integral part of Slaven Bilic’s side in the early part of the season.
After a few difficult games, Zabaleta got his first win in the Premier League with his new club as West Ham beat Huddersfield 2-0 on Monday night, and the former City star says he loved playing as a wing-back in an adventurous back three formation.
“I played as a wing-back against Huddersfield. It’s been a long time since I played in that position, but I was happy with the performance.” he told whufc.com.
“I always tried to support in attack and also always try to be in the right position defensively. Overall I think we were solid at the back.”
Zabaleta had his best game to date in Claret and Blue against David Wagner’s side, and his running up and down the right flank caused the Huddersfield defenders problems all afternoon. It was a big performance, not only from Zabaleta, but all the West Ham players, who will now be looking to kick-on and get their season properly underway.
“We needed a performance like that as defenders, because in the last three games we conceded ten goals. That wasn’t good enough, so I’m very happy with the performance overall. The whole team did great.
“A clean sheet like Monday’s brings confidence back and hopefully we can continue playing in that way.”
