McCoist and Stelling love what happened with Ollie Scarles in West Ham win v Arsenal
West Ham United gave a first Premier League start to Ollie Scarles against Arsenal, and the teenager held his own in their 1-0 victory.
All seven of Scarles’ previous league appearances for the Hammers – all of which have been this season – saw him come off the bench, but Graham Potter put him in from the start against Arsenal on Saturday.
West Ham produced a shock 1-0 victory at Emirates Stadium thanks to Jarrod Bowen’s winner late in the first half, giving Potter only his second win in charge and heavily derailing Arsenal’s title bid in the process.
Starting on the left of a five-man West Ham backline, Scarles certainly didn’t let the side down as he saw out the full 90 minutes, despite a late yellow card, and staked his claim to earn a regular starting berth.
Stelling and McCoist hail ‘fantastic’ Ollie Scarles at West Ham
While much of the focus on talkSPORT in the aftermath of West Ham’s victory over Arsenal was on the ramifications for the Gunners’ Premier League title bid, Jeff Stelling and Ally McCoist were full of praise for Scarles.
Discussing the result (24 February, 9:07am), Stelling said: “What about 19-year-old Ollie Scarles – what a place and what a time to make your full league debut, and be on the winning team at the Emirates.”
“It’s a fantastic story, it’s a great result for the new manager”, McCoist added; “It’s a brilliant result for them, but I’ve got to say, last year I was there, West Ham beat them 2-0 and it could have been three.
“So, as much as a great result it is for West Ham, it’s not maybe as massive a shock as we’re making out here.”
| Season | Premier League appearances (starts) | Other appearances | Total |
| 2022/23 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2023/24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024/25 | 8 (1) | 1 | 10 |
Scarles hardly puts a foot wrong for West Ham v Arsenal
Starting a Premier League match and playing the full 90 for the very first time, Scarles took a tricky trip to the Emirates in his stride on Saturday, completing more tackles than anyone else on the pitch.
Those four tackles made up just a quarter of Scarles’ whopping 16 defensive interventions, including a further seven interceptions, with a block and clearance apiece and nine recoveries in total.
Scarles attempted a further two tackles unsuccessfully, but a 67 per cent success rate is certainly nothing to be sniffed at, and the teenager won eight duels including 70 per cent of those on the ground.
A 70 per cent accuracy was also mirrored by Scarles’ passing against the Gunners, with four of his 21 passes making their way into the final third, and 0.01 expected assists recorded in total.
West Ham took the game to Arsenal and return to the other side of London with all three points, and given Potter has clearly liked what he’s seen from Scarles so far, expect the youngster to keep his place.