Jason Cundy blasts ’embarrassing’ Max Kilman in West Ham loss v Arsenal
Jason Cundy has blasted Max Kilman after the role he played in Arsenal’s fourth goal against West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Hammers found themselves 4-0 down within the first 40 minutes of the game and looked set to be readying themselves for an absolute romping.
Kilman was chasing down Kai Havertz for the Gunners’ fourth goal of the game and instead of trying to keep up with him in a foot race, he chose to lunge for the ball, missed and fell to the floor, resulting in the German being able to get away.
West Ham did restore a little pride, but ultimately still went on to lose the match 5-2 on 20 November.
Speaking live on talkSPORT (30 November, 18:06), Cundy shared his thoughts on Kilman’s role in that fourth goal.
“It’s embarrassing. You say [the game is] kicking off every 10 minutes or so but it’s less than that right now,” he said.
“The ball has gone over [Kilman’s] head and he’s running back. It’s a nice ball to [Kai] Havertz; Kilman goes straight to ground and as soon as you go to ground, you can’t catch him.”
Max Kilman needs to find his defensive form for West Ham
Of all the Hammers’ summer signings, Kilman is arguably the one that fans have welcomed the most.
A lot of their newbies haven’t had the best of times since moving to the London Stadium, but Kilman seemed to improve their defensive line tenfold.
However, as the game against Mikel Arteta’s men showed, the former Wolves defender is also prone to a mistake here and there.
Granted, a footballer isn’t expected to play perfectly for every moment of every game but it feels like of all the defenders in Julen Lopetegui’s team, the Englishman should be the one who’s the most reliable.
As shown by Wolves’ form this season, the centre-back is a key cog to any team he’s part of and if his form falters, who knows how far down the table West Ham could end up.
But one thing is for sure, if they put in performances like they did against Arsenal week-in and week-out, there’s likely little to no hope of Lopetegui keeping his job.
And if Kilman repeats this performance anytime soon, he will be lucky not to lose his place in the starting line-up.
In other West Ham news, one of Lopetegui’s biggest underachievers this season has been nominated for a prestigious FIFA award.
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