West Ham defender Dinos Mavropanos remains optimistic despite the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at the weekend. The 27 year old felt there were encouraging signs in the Hammers display and believes the squad will improve as they adapt to life under Nuno Espirito Santo.

Coming up against his former club, endured a demanding afternoon away at the Emirates but produced a solid display at the heart of the Hammers defence. The Greek international, who was making his sixth consecutive start, stood up tall in the face of relentless pressure from the Gunners, putting up strong defensive numbers in what was a busy 90 minutes for West Ham’s back line.

Speaking after the defeat, Mavropanos reflected on the positives as well as the lessons for the Hammers to take forward in the coming weeks, as reported by the clubs Official Website: “We knew from the beginning that it was going to be a tough game. We wanted to be compact defensively, to try and keep the ball and then do our best up front.” said West Ham’s no. 15.

The former Gunner admitted that despite he and his teammates putting in the hard yards, the Hammers ultimately fell short in attack: “When we were winning back possession, we couldn’t really keep it or make chances, and in the end we didn’t get anything out of the game. But we worked hard, and we know we have to keep going, which we will.”

As the Hammers continue to adjust to life under their new head coach, Mavropanos expressed his faith in both Nuno’s approach, as well as the squads ability to pick up results in the next run of games.

“The manager is really straight with what he wants, and at half time he was telling us to stick to our plan.” said the Greek international.

The defender added: “I think we can all adapt to his philosophies quickly, and we’re only going to get better with time. Hopefully, we’re stronger in the next game, and we can start getting the results we want.”