Potter ‘to pull Carlos Soler out of West Ham team’ v Arsenal after what he did
Carlos Soler is at risk of being dropped by Graham Potter for West Ham United’s clash against Arsenal.
West Ham travel to Emirates Stadium in one hell of a rut, falling to a season low of 16th in the Premier League table following four games without a win, including a 1-0 home defeat to Brentford last time out.
West Ham come up against an Arsenal side fighting tooth and nail to keep themselves within touching distance of Liverpool at the top, looking to bridge an eight-point gap with a victory against Potter’s side.
Having picked up just one win in six since taking charge of West Ham, Potter will be looking to make changes in a bid to cause an upset, and ensure the Hammers don’t have to look over their shoulders.
Changes needed for West Ham ahead of Arsenal clash
The Hammers were nothing short of woeful in the first half against Brentford last weekend, going 1-0 down within four minutes and counting themselves lucky that the Bees didn’t at least double their lead.
As a result, Potter swung the axe at half-time with three changes made at once, hooking Soler, Tomas Soucek and Emerson for James Ward-Prowse, Evan Ferguson and Ollie Scarles to try and turn the game.
A much-improved second-half performance didn’t manage to salvage anything for the Irons, but it’s unlikely that all three of that trio could start at the Emirates, with Soler the most likely to drop out.
Carlos Soler a calamity for West Ham v Brentford
Lucas Paqueta’s injury picked up in training this week could well spare Soler’s place in the starting XI to face Arsenal on Saturday, but there’s no denying that the Spaniard was anonymous against Brentford.
With West Ham weighing up whether to make his loan move from PSG permanent next summer, Soler’s display against the Bees won’t have done him any favours as the first half completely passed him by.
The Spaniard may have completed 88 per cent of his passes, but that amounted to a mere seven from eight attempts, with 15 touches in total and not managing a single one in Brentford’s box.
Soler was hardly the most effective when he was on the ball, either, losing it in possession once and managing a zero per cent hit-rate from his two attempted crosses into the area.
| West Ham in all competitions | Carlos Soler |
| Appearances | 22 |
| Starts | 13 |
| Goals | 1 |
| Assists | 1 |
Furthermore, Soler could only win 50 per cent of his ground duels and was a shadow defensively as Brentford tore through West Ham’s midfield at will, completing just one defensive action in 45 minutes.
That consisted of a single header clear as the Bees laid siege to West Ham’s rear third of the field, and other than a solitary ball recovery, that was all Soler could mange before his withdrawal.
Though they’re down on numbers to face Arsenal, Soler’s recent displays have made it near impossible to justify keeping his place, despite being the player who scored West Ham’s first goal under Potter.