Following West Ham United’s 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka found himself at the centre of criticism. Many have pointed fingers at his positioning and general bombing forward, blaming him for the goals conceded. However, I thought he was one of the Hammers’ best performers on a bad day in North London.
Wan-Bissaka was heavily involved in West Ham’s attempt to claw their way back into the game, which meant marauding forward to contribute in attack. However, I don’t think the former Man United man’s attacking runs were tactical indiscipline—I believe he was acting on instruction.
It was clear that there was an attempt by West Ham to fight their way back into a game that slipped away faster than coach Julen Lopetegui could respond, and he has admitted as much.
Despite the focus on Wan-Bissaka, I thought he was one of several players who individually performed reasonably well, hinting at a bigger problem. AWB tackled well, remained fully committed, and definitely offered options in attack. While the team functioned effectively as a unit in the first half, the second 45 minutes saw a capitulation as they looked like a group of strangers.
There was one particular point in the second half where Mohammed Kudus had dribbled his way into an excellent position to release the ball for an attack on goal. With all avenues blocked, the unmarked Wan-Bissaka drifted into a dangerous position, but the pass from Kudus never came. This move was indicative of the Hammers’ team at that time, who had lost composure and were playing as individuals.
Ultimately, it’s too easy to single out Wan-Bissaka for criticism in a game where the team as a whole struggled following Ange Postecoglou’s tactical switch in midfield, which Lopetegui reacted to too slowly.
There were some decent performances hidden within an embarrassing loss to our London rivals, and “Obi-Wan Bissaka” has taken too much of the blame.
