One of West Ham’s star players has been slammed by Jamie Carragher for not “being alive” during their 1-1 draw with Brentford.
6 games into the Premier League season and West Ham have a measly 5 points to their name. It’s been anything but an ideal start for Julen Lopetegui, but the fixtures haven’t been kind to him.
Although there are genuine criticisms to make over the system, particularly the amount of room his style of play has left in the middle of the park. However, there’s no denying that individual errors have played a massive role in the Hammers’ poor start, and it was the case again against Brentford.
Bryan Mbeumo’s goal in the opening minute of the match may have required a brilliant strike, but the ball only ended up in that position due to West Ham’s mistakes. In particular, Jamie Carragher singled out Emerson as the biggest offender for not being switched on. “This is just about being alive and pace and energy,” he explained to Sky Sports.
“West Ham don’t look alive, especially the left-back there Emerson. He’s been done on the first run initially, Ajer puts the ball in and look at Emerson, he’s got to be closer, and he’s got to be aggressive.“
“Again, they win the second ball and look how alive [Fabio] Carvalho is and listen you still need the great finish.”
After his unbelievable campaign last season, Emerson has been subpar so far. Many have speculated that it’s down to the fact that Paqueta has been moved central again and they may be onto something. The duo link up exceptionally well on the left hand side, but this is ruined when Paqueta is in his preferred 10 position.
Lopetegui’s system relies a lot on attacking fullbacks, and there are very few better than Emerson when he’s performing at his best. If the Spaniard can find a way to get the most out of him it could be a massive step towards getting this West Ham side winning again.