Prior to West Ham’s pivotal round of 16 match, Moyes has a significant Areola issue

Prior to West Ham’s pivotal round of 16 match, Moyes has a significant Areola issue.

 

 

In the first leg of their Europa League last 16 match, West Ham takes on Freiburg in Germany, but he faces an issue with Alphonse Areola.

 

In the Premier League, West Ham may boast the finest number one and two goalkeeper selections.

 

Alphonse Areola and Lukasz Fabianski, the Hammers’ tandem, are by far the best, maybe excepting Arsenal.

 

However, that has its own set of drawbacks.

 

particularly since David Moyes has made it his goal to alternate the two between league and cup games.

 

Moyes faces a serious conundrum before the Europa League last 16 match.

Areola has been West Ham’s best player, which has led to Premier League starts for him.

 

Additionally, Fabianski has served as the cup keeper since the domestic and Europa League championships.

 

However, West Ham is about to play in the vital knockout stages, which presents the manager with a significant challenge.

 

Before the vital West Ham vs. Freiburg round of 16 match, Moyes must deal with a serious Areola issue.

 

 

With Areola in the best form of his life, the Hammers enter the opening leg in Germany.

 

In the victory over Everton the other night, the 6′ 5in Frenchman turned in one of the greatest goalkeeping displays arguably Premier League history.

 

West Ham United vs. Everton FC – Premier League

Rob Newell/CameraSport photo via Getty Images

Is Areola really too nice to be switched around?

Then, Moyes declared audaciously that his top ranking may yet improve.

 

Additionally, he produced vital stops against Brentford to guarantee West Ham’s easy victory.

 

If Areola hadn’t been injured, the most recent loss against Forest would have happened by a far more convincing margin.

 

Moyes now has to choose whether to remain with his position about the goalie.

 

Or does the Scot pick his best squad for a pivotal elimination match?

 

Naturally, it’s a good problem to have.

 

And the Hammers never lose faith in Fabianski.

 

West Ham is never let down by Fabianski, but there are no second chances.

But Areola is a game changer for this West Ham squad, and he’s playing so well right now that you have to respect the manager’s decision to continue with him and start Fabianski on the bench.

 

At this point, there are no second chances. For the second leg, West Ham will aim to remain in the match anyway.

 

However, during the past few months, the Hammers have demonstrated that even when they are not at full strength, they can still score goals.

 

Therefore, Moyes has a very difficult decision to make.

 

Does he start Areola, his big cat, in goal for these important European matches? Or does he know there are no second chances, unlike in the group stage, and brings in a possibly little rusty Fabianski?

 

It’s a significant decision, and over the past few years, Moyes has regularly made the right ones.