OPINION
There was no doubting that West Ham’s Arthur Masuaku’s performance against Manchester United on Saturday evening will have come as a shock to many.
The 25-year-old was outstanding from start to finish versus the Red Devils, causing havoc down the left flank and remaining defensively resolute to keep the Premier League giants at bay.
It was cruel that this sort of performance ended in defeat for the defender and supporters at the London Stadium will be wondering just where this top drawer display came from, having seen Masuaku flounder time and again on the left hand side of the defence.
He has been a long way off the desired standards in east London and it is part of the reason why he has been reported by football.london as having his head on the chopping block ahead of the summer transfer window.
If he put in performances like he did on Saturday, you can be sure that he would be nowhere near the exit door under Manuel Pellegrini, but the problem is his form has been remarkably inconsistent.
For every brilliant game he has, there are five more where he looks a liability at the back and his ability at the other end of the pitch has hardly been much better.
It could have simply been the fact he upped his performance against the Premier League heavyweights because of the opposition. Unfortunately for him, West Ham need players who can do it week in, week out.
Saturday should not stop the axe from hovering over his head – but it might well have planted a seed of doubt in Manuel Pellegrini’s mind.
