West Ham’s Michail Antonio was back to his best in Sunday’s thrilling London derby against Chelsea.

Michail Antonio has come under a lot of scrutiny over the past year but, despite this, David Moyes has kept his faith in the striker and it certainly paid off against Chelsea.

By a miracle, the game was level at half time following a penalty save from Areola. Chelsea had been knocking on the door more and more as the half drew to a close but the Hammers managed to hold on.

In the second half the mood changed and, despite Chelsea dominating possession, the home side looked the most likely to score out of the two.

Enter Michail Antonio who scored in the 53rd minute with an inch-perfect finish just inside the box. However, it’s not just the goal that he deserves praise for though, he was causing issues for the Blues throughout the game by drawing out defenders and working tirelessly for the ball.

The Jamaican has been linked with a move away throughout the summer but, as of right now, it looks like he will be staying and I don’t think any of us can complain about that if he plays like that consistently.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to find many strikers like Antonio as he suits Moyes’ system perfectly. He’s one of the most important players to the Scotsman. This is something that Martin Keown highlighted on Match of the Day 2. “Great personality, great character. A real giant,” he stated on the show. “And he’s becoming a really good lone striker, he’s almost perfect for the role, particularly when West Ham want to sit back deep as they did in that low-block, absorb all that pressure,” Keown continued. “And then on the break, he runs the channels absolutely brilliantly. So strong.”

Despite having four or five players that can play up top, the Irons have struggled to find any other striker who can provide the same impact as Antonio. Exwhuemployee has made it clear that the club do remain interested in a striker and it could be interesting to see, if Moyes does go to a 3 back formation, if he will experiment with two strikers as well to get the benefits that Michail brings to the side while, also, being able to have a more consistent finisher alongside him.

By Charlie Bass