OPINION
Manuel Pellegrini has had a lot of different problems to solve during his short time as West Ham boss, with left-back being one of those issues.
The Chilean has seemingly settled on Arthur Masuaku as his first-choice in that position, with the DR Congo international edging out Aaron Cresswell in the pecking order.
Masuaku has however returned from international duty early with a minor injury, as reported by football.london journalist Sam Inkersole, and Pellegrini now has a big decision to make for their clash against bitter rivals Tottenham this weekend.
Arthur Masuaku has picked up a very minor ankle injury on international duty. He's been withdrawn from the DR Congo squad for the AFCON qualifier against Zimbabwe and is on his way back to London.
— Sam Inkersole (@Sam_InkersoleTM) October 15, 2018
Masuaku does sound like he could recover in time for the clash, but Pellegrini may decide to rest him and play counterpart Cresswell instead.
While that may seem like a blow for the Hammers, it in fact could well be a huge blessing in disguise.
Cresswell has admittedly not looked himself at all when selected this term, but in all honesty Masuaku has been a liability at the back for the Irons at times as well.
The one thing that Cresswell does bring over Masuaku is set-piece delivery, with his left-foot providing pinpoint balls into the box with great regularity.
And, one of Tottenham’s big weaknesses this season has been defending set pieces, with manager Mauricio Pochettino describing it as a “trauma” for his players [Telegraph].
On multiple occasions this season the world-class Tottenham defence have conceded from set-pieces, and that may be the best way for the Hammers to break through on Saturday.
Cresswell being on the pitch will help that no end, and the rarely-seen flyer may therefore hold the keys to victory over their London rivals this weekend.
