Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Trevor Sinclair says West Ham star Andriy Yarmolenko is not good enough at striker
Trevor Sinclair has claimed that West Ham’s Andriy Yarmolenko is “not good enough” to play as a sole striker.
With Michail Antonio not in the squad on Tuesday night, Yarmolenko lead the line during West Ham’s 1-0 defeat away to Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round.
David Moyes’ side were beaten by a Scott McTominay strike in extra time, but it was a match where the Hammers couldn’t find much of a spark in attack.
Yarmolenko, 31, started the contest as the centre-forward, but was substituted off early in the second-half with a suspected injury.
The left-footer had very little impact when on the pitch, as he doesn’t provide the same physical presence as Antonio, plus he doesn’t make the same kind of bursting runs in behind.
He is a wide player by trade, but a lack of depth in the squad means he looks like the back-up striker.
Sinclair isn’t convinced by Yarmolenko down the middle:
“Yarmolenko, as good as he is on the right wing coming in on his left foot, he’s not quite good enough as a striker in that number nine shape,”
TBR’s View:
Yarmolenko moved to the London Stadium back in 2018 from Borussia Dortmund.
The Ukraine international has 38 goals in 92 caps for his country and he’s shown moments of brilliance in a West Ham shirt, but there hasn’t been any consistency.
He wasn’t helped by a long-term Achilles injury at the beginning of his Irons career and it’s a bit of unfair ask to make him be the understudy to Antonio at centre-forward.