Former Scotland international Alan Hutton has raved over West Ham United captain Mark Noble for reaching 500 senior appearances.
The 32-year-old did so against Arsenal in the 3-1 defeat on Monday night, and BBC pundit Hutton has no doubt about the quality of the Englishman.
“He’s done unbelievable,” he told Football Insider. “Everyone says Mr.West Ham and within the West Ham walls, he is absolutely loved. And I think he doesn’t get enough credit outside of West Ham, he kind of goes under the radar a wee bit.
“I think it’s because there are so many top-class players in the Premier League, he does get a bit overlooked because it’s a great feat to play that amount of games. He stayed when they went down, he battled to get them back, so he has done unbelievable.”
OPINION
Noble certainly isn’t amongst the cream of the Premier League crop, far from it, but he is about as reliable of an operator as you can find in the top flight. He’s been the perfect person to mentor Declan Rice though his rise to prominence, and remains the best central midfield partner to the England international. He certainly doesn’t go under the radar in east London, though. He is positively beloved at the London Stadium, and will likely go on to have a coaching or boardroom position with the club once he retires. For Noble to reach 500 senior appearances is a monumental achievement, and not one that many players enjoy. Yes, his form hasn’t been quite as good this campaign. He’s only averaging 0.6 key passes, 0.5 interceptions and 0.1 blocks per game [Source: WhoScored.com]. However, he is still an automatic starter for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, and you feel his absence when he’s not playing.
