West Ham shocked Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday, beating the North London side 1-0 thanks to a diving header from Jarrod Bowen on the stroke of half-time.
The Hammers went into the game off the back of a disappointing home defeat to Brentford the weekend before, meaning many wrote the visitors off going into the game against a side sitting second in the league.
However, the performance from Graham Potter’s side was admirable, with Arsenal being limited to very little chances in front of goal, which is a credit to the organisation of his team.
One of West Ham’s standout performers on Saturday was 19-year-old Ollie Scarles, who picked up a 7.6 match rating according to SofaScore, making him the Hammers’ second-best performer behind Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Potter has put a lot of faith in the teenager since his arrival, with the left-back featuring in every game during the manager’s time at the club so far.
Scarles has mostly featured as a left-wing-back this season and in a position that is so demanding, the youngster has most certainly not looked out of place and has put in some impressive performances, showing great maturity at such a young age.
Scarles has excelled in the two games he has started this season, against Arsenal and Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round.
It’s always difficult to judge a player fully when they are only making cameo appearances off the bench, so the fact Scarles has performed so well and got up to the pace of the Premier League so quickly in the games he’s started is a very promising sign.
Scarles’ performance vs Arsenal by numbers
Scarles produced some impressive statistics against the Gunners, with one of them being the seven interceptions he made, which was by far the most of any player on the pitch in the game.
The 19-year-old also made six tackles, putting him at the top of the table for that statistic as well.
It wasn’t just defensively he impressed either, with the left-back having 52 touches in the game and completing 21 passes, showing his confidence on the ball and willingness to have possession.
To produce these numbers against a team pushing for the title and competing in the Champions League in your first Premier League start is quite exceptional, and the fact the teenager has settled in so quickly makes him such an exciting prospect.
West Ham fans love it when a homegrown talent features in the first team, which doesn’t happen too often, but with the performances Scarles has produced so far in a claret and blue shirt, it feels inevitable that we will be seeing a lot more of him in the future.
It’s early doors, but the attitude Scarles has shown when playing for West Ham and the level of performances he’s produced, it feels only natural he is going to improve over time, and this could quite easily see the player becoming a key member of the side, and perhaps a future West Ham captain.
