With the experiment of using Michail Antonio as a right-back proving unsuccessful, West Ham announced the deadline day signing of former Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa on a free transfer.
The 33-year-old has joined on a one-year deal, and speaking to the club’s official website, explained his reasons for making to move back to England:
“For me, this is a great chance to be back in England and in the Premier League, which is a fantastic league and I want to put myself in the Premier League again. This is a big club and a great club with good players and a fantastic coach… I need two or three weeks to be really fit because I have been training on my own, which is different. You can see I feel really, really well and I’m excited to play for this team. I have been training and I feel ready.”
The History
Arbeloa started his youth career with Zaragoza, before linking up with Real Madrid at the age of 18. The defender struggled to make the grade at Real, only managing two first-team appearances before joining Deportivo La Coruna in July 2006.
After just six months with Depor, making 20 league appearances, Arbeloa joined Liverpool in January 2007. He enjoyed a successful spell at Anfield over the next two-and-a-half years, making 98 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals and registering six assists.
Having gained plenty of top-level experience during his time on Merseyside, Arbeloa returned to Real Madrid in July 2009.
Over the following few years, he was an important member of the first-team squad, playing mainly as a right-back, although he also featured several times at left-back.
First-team opportunities were limited over the past few seasons, though, and, in 2015/16, the defender was afforded just six league appearances. During his second spell at Real, Arbeloa made 236 appearances in all competitions, scoring six goals and providing 14 assists.
After representing Spain at Under 17, Under 19 and Under 21 levels, making seven appearances in total, Arbeloa was given his senior debut against Italy in March 2008. He was a member of the Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 winning squads, and in total played 58 times for his country, registering four assists.
The Prospects
Discussing the new arrival with the Hammers website, co-owner David Sullivan issued handy confirmation that the acquisition of Arbeloa means that, after scoring in each of the last two Gameweeks, Michail Antonio will no longer be utilised as a defender:
“Before the Deadline Day on Wednesday we had an unbalanced squad and we needed to change a few things around. The decision has now been made that Michail Antonio will play as a winger after originally starting the season as a right-back. As a result we had to move out a winger (Enner Valencia), and have brought in a full-back to compete with and help Sam Byram. We explored all avenues and managed to secure the signature of one of the more experienced full-backs in the world and one with Premier League experience.”
Essentially, that is the main point of note from Arbeloa’s arrival – Antonio is now freed up to play in the final third on a permanent basis, affording us an excellent option in the mid-price bracket at 7.0.
Whilst Dimitri Payet is the most nailed-on Hammers’ attacker, it’s worth noting that Antonio has started every league match since being named in the first XI in Gameweek 16 last season and is clearly a favourite of Bilic’s.
Granted, the likes of Manuel Lanzini, Sofiane Feghouli, Gokhan Tore and Andre Ayew – once fit – will all offer strong competition for those attacking midfield positions. Although Ayew boasts a similar goal threat to Antonio, the former three have been anything but prolific during their careers.
A very favourable upcoming run of fixtures (WAT, wba, SOT, MID, cpl, SUN, eve, STO) could see the Hammers profit at both ends of the pitch.
At the back, James Collins (4.6) and Byram (4.5) currently offer cheaper routes into the Hammers defence, and with Arbeloa valued at 5.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), Fantasy managers will be hoping the former Leeds defender remains Bilic’s first choice option.
Nonetheless, Byram has occasionally found the step up from the Championship a difficult one, and once Arbeloa gets his fitness up to scratch, Bilic could turn to the Spaniard’s experience if he still has the legs to deal with the rigours of the Premier League.
Collins, meanwhile, has started all three Premier League matches so far and scored against Chelsea but Bilic’s decision to move to three at the back against City allowed Angelo Ogbonna a first start of the season. Although the Welshman remains favourite to retain his start, Winston Reid is arguably the most secure pick, albeit at a slightly higher cost of 5.0.
