Jermaine Jenas slams Lucas Paqueta for ‘really poor’ display in West Ham United loss to Aston Villa
Jermaine Jenas has slammed Lucas Paqueta for being part of a “really poor” performance as Aston Villa beat West Ham United.
The Irons barely laid a glove on Unai Emery’s side as they were beaten 4-1 on Sunday (22 October) with Jarrod Bowen scoring David Moyes’ only goal early in the second half before goals from Douglas Luiz, Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey ensured the Hammers would return to the London Stadium empty-handed.
While very few West Ham players came away from Villa Park with much credit, Jenas was quick to criticise Paqueta for what he deemed a sloppy performance, with the former England midfielder even questioning the Brazilian’s attitude.
Speaking on Match of the Day 2 on Sunday (22 October) he said: “I thought they were really poor.
“Paqueta here, I mean what a player he is and he’s been brilliant for West Ham, but you can’t do this. For me, he just strolled around today. He looked like he was in one of those moods where ‘if you get me the ball, I might do something special.’
“If not, you get that side of me. I just thought from a West Ham point of view they’d kind of got past these moments, but it was a worrying sign.”
Wandering around
No West Ham players were particularly special at Villa Park on Sunday and while Paqueta was far from his best, Paqueta was just one of many players in the away side who struggled to make much of a positive impact during the defeat at Villa Park.
He should have done more to track Douglas Luiz for Villa’s opener, but Alphonse Areola could be equally criticised for his failure to stop the midfielder’s strike which was relatively close to him and his back pass to Edson Alvarez left a lot to be desired.
Concentration has been an issue of Paqueta’s game so far during his time in England and over the last 18 months he’s always been capable of switching off in crucial moments and if he wants to elevate his game, he will have to become more consistent.
The Hammers need to find a way to win these matches, especially considering their recent record against Aston Villa if they genuinely have ambitions to once again qualify for Europe this season, they’ll have to take points from the other teams that they’re competing with.
In other West Ham news, David Moyes has said that he is in no rush to extend his stay at the London Stadium