Football.London reporter Sam Inkersole has blasted West Ham defender Arthur Masuaku for his performance against Everton on Saturday afternoon, labelling him as “atrocious”.
The 25-year-old was drafted in to replace the injured Aaron Cresswell at Goodison Park, but struggled to get up to pace in a lacklustre 2-0 defeat.
And Inkersole pulled no punches in his assessment.
Writing in a piece for Football.London, he said: “His positioning was atrocious in the first half as Everton constantly got in behind down his flank.
“Improved after half time, especially going forward, but wasn’t at his marauding best and was constantly pushed back by the impressive [Theo] Walcott.”
OPINION
This is where stats can be misleading in football. Masuaku, brought in at the last minute for Aaron Cresswell, who himself has been superb in recent weeks, looked to have had a decent game for the Hammers on paper. Two tackles, three interceptions, three clearances, plus one key pass and a successful dribble, as per Whoscored, would suggest that, at the very least, he put in a passable shift. In fact, on paper, the only real indication that he struggled was the fact he was dribbled past and dispossessed three times each. But those numbers fail to properly convey the amount of times that he was caught out of position, or how many times he looked to be genuinely troubled by the trickery of Bernard and Walcott. All in all, a day to forget for the full-back.
