West Ham United duo Jarrod Bowen and Aaron Wan-Bissaka combined to score our second goal against Newcastle United on Monday night.
Jarrod Bowen slid the ball into the path of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and the summer signing fired into the back of Newcastle’s net to put West Ham 2-0 up on the night.
West Ham were absolutely brilliant up at St James’ Park, despite Adrian Durham bizarrely suggesting that Bowen should leave the London Stadium after our so-called ‘poor display’.
We all know that is utter rubbish – it was our best performance of the season by a long stretch, and Julen Lopetegui would have been delighted with his players.
The Hammers players were well up for the Toon clash, and they proved that they’re all fully behind Lopetegui with their fully committed performances.
Next up is a clash with Arsenal on Saturday, so we will soon know whether Monday’s win on Tyneside was anything more than a false dawn.
The mood in the Hammers camp and amongst the fans certainly seems a lot better.
And one of Lopetegui’s highly questionable methods working well against Newcastle was evidence that he might just be on to something.
What Jarrod Bowen did after Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s goal
The performance against the Toon was really enjoyable to watch.
We pressed with some real intensity and levels of efficiency that I haven’t witnessed from us so far this season.
The main thing I noticed after the game was the smile on the players’ faces – it really was a huge result for us in the context of our season.
The link-up play between Bowen and Wan-Bissaka against Newcastle was hugely encouraging, as it hadn’t quite clicked before Monday night.
According to a report from the Athletic, Bowen’s reaction immediately after Wan-Bissaka’s goal was very telling indeed.
He pointed to the bench as if to highlight how his teammate’s goal vindicated Lopetegui’s philosophy of having his full-backs push high up the pitch.
Lopetegui vindicated for Wan-Bissaka tactic
The Spaniard has received heavy criticism of his use of Wan-Bissaka, since he brought the 27-year-old to West Ham from Manchester United.
Lopetegui has persisted with the former Man United man as an attacking wing-back, despite him being one of the best defensive full-backs in the league.
At times, the 27-year-old has been caught out of position because of this, and the Hammers seem to be susceptible on the counter attack.
However, Lopetegui was vindicated in his methods on Monday night when Aaron Wan-Bissaka scored his first goal for West Ham, and Jarrod Bowen’s reaction told its own story.
The London-born defender operating in such an advanced position against Arsenal could be a kamikaze move though.
Lopetegui must prove that he has some nouse by changing his tactics for certain games, and the Gunners clash is definitely one where I want Wan-Bissaka defending rather than going forward.
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