Gary Neville blasts ‘lazy, terrible’ Paqueta in West Ham collapse vs Arsenal
Lucas Paqueta was blasted by Gary Neville after conceding a penalty for West Ham in their clash with Arsenal at The London Stadium.
It was a frantic first-half as the two sides met on Saturday (30th November), with the Gunners 5-2 up by half-time as many issues under Julen Lopetegui re-emerged.
Mikel Arteta’s side had raced into a 4-0 lead by the 36th minute, with the third of those goals coming courtesy of a Martin Odegaard penalty.
That was won when Bukayo Saka got the better of Paqueta inside the West Ham penalty area, as the Brazilian dangled a leg, prompting referee Anthony Taylor to point to the spot.
Neville was far from impressed with the defending from the 27-year-old in that incident. Speaking about the penalty concession while co-commentating on Sky Sports, the former Man United man said (18:03): “Paqueta had a waft, a lazy waft. He’s never really going to be able to shift his feet quickly enough Paqueta, and he just, there, he’s watching him, he’s watching, low centre of gravity, change of direction.
“Whether he makes contact or not, there’s that leg that sticks out and I’ve got very little sympathy for players who make that type of challenge”.
Things did not get better for the West Ham man in Neville’s eyes after the break. With Paqueta slicing an Arsenal corner behind for another set-piece while not under pressure, the co-commentator said (18:54): “That’s a terrible clearance from Paqueta, anything but another corner.”
Lucas Paqueta and West Ham flop to put pressure back on Julen Lopetegui
Football Insider Opinion
This is certainly not a day that went as Paqueta or the rest of his side would have wanted at the London Stadium.
The Hammers picked up a big win against Newcastle last time out, that will have helped to ease some of the pressure on manager Lopetegui.
A performance such as this against Arsenal will have brought West Ham back down to earth, and may have put more pressure on the former Wolves boss, even as he served a touchline ban in the stands.
Moments such as these from Paqueta certainly did not help the cause, and even if there was minimal contact at best for the penalty, he took an unnecessary risk in leaving his leg in that position in such non-committal fashion.
All of that will be frustrating for the Brazilian who is yet to rediscover the sort of form that previously took him close to a move to Man City prior to an investigation on betting regulations.
Indeed, with Lopetegui needing to make changes in an attempt to keep his job, Paqueta may wonder whether moments like this could soon raise questions about his place in the Hammers side.
It also won’t be lost on Irons supporters that a home thrashing by the Gunners last season was the begging of the end for David Moyes.
In other news, Man City have been tipped to sell a West Ham target in January.
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