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Three things learned about West Ham v Brighton

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OPINION

Manuel Pellegrini was aiming to guide West Ham to another positive result against Brighton on Friday and it didn’t go according to plan.

The Hammers fell 1-0 behind courtesy of a Glenn Murray goal and couldn’t find a way back into the game despite having lot of the ball.

Due to their recent loss ahead of the international break it seems the experienced manager would have learnt several important things about his side following their run of good form ending.

Forever West HamĀ have picked out three things we learned about West Ham v Brighton below:

Obiang would be a big loss

Pedro Obiang went down in the early stages of the Hammers’ clash with Brighton and it was a brief heart in mouth moment for the Hammers. The midfielder caught a whack on his ankle after going for a tackle and needed an extra moment on the floor before getting up and recomposing himself. However given his past track record with injuries, you would be excused if just for a split secondĀ  you thought the worse. Obiang has been tremendous since coming into Pellegrini’s first team this season and if injury were to rip him from the club’s starting line-up anytime then it would be a huge blow to the London club. The midfielder didn’t have the best of games against Brighton and that’s why the Hammers struggled, particularly in the first-half.

January Transfer mission need

Pellegrini needs to sign a new left-back that much is clear. Arthur Masuaku has all the potential to be a fabulous attacking threat for his side but when it comes to defending, he is clueless. The full-back was arguably at fault for his side conceding and his manager must no doubt be aware that he can’t be counted on to help his side get clean sheets. Given that the manager should have the same issue when evaluating Aaron Cresswell then surely he knows that the club must dip its toe in to the transfer market to sign a left-sided defender capable of actually defending. Whether this means an exit for one of his current option is debatable but it’s clear the left-flank of the Hammers’ defence is the side’s weak point at the moment.

Yarmolenko will prove to be Marmite

Andriy Yarmolenko has dazzled in recent weeks but fans saw the ugly side of his game on Friday night. As soon as it didn’t look like being the winger’s night he just couldn’t get anything going. Yarmolenko became so lacklustre and careless in his latest outing that he was actually a liability for his side as he was easily robbed of the ball whenever it was at his feet. Given that Yarmolenko has always had a tendency to be inconsistent in his career, he will end up being treated like Marmite at the London Stadium. Some fans will love him and other will hate him and deem him not to be the all-round winger the club need. The 6ft 2in tall winger (Source: Transfermarkt) will need to become able to regularly deliver good performances if he doesn’t want to divide opinion at his latest club.

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