Target men emerge from the bench to share the spoils at the London Stadium as Peter Crouch and Andy Carroll put the much-fancied Marko Arnautovic in the shade.
Arnautovic boasted nine goals and five assists from his last 14 Gameweek starts before Monday’s game and had been involved in 54% of West Ham’s goals over the season.
True to form, Arnautovic was a threat throughout the clash with Stoke and was only denied a goal when adjudged marginally offside after guiding home an Aaron Creswell centre.
The Austrian had fired another two shots from inside the box before that incident but could not break the resolve of his former club. Instead it took the introduction of Carroll to rescue a point for West Ham.
The blank will come as a major blow to the 5.7% who took Arnautovic into the match as a single Gameweek asset, particularly in light of his schedule of fixtures to come.
West Ham have a Double Gameweek 37 – with match-ups at Leicester City and a home encounter with Manchester United. But, before that, they go to Arsenal and host Manchester City in matches that seem unlikely to give up too many opportunities for goals and points.
Nonetheless, given that Arnautovic offers a Gameweek 35 fixture away to the Gunners, he will likely be held and may continue to attract extra investment. He has already gained just over 8,500 owners since Saturday’s deadline.
Arsenal have kept two clean sheets over their last three on home turf, though incredibly those are their only shut-outs in 15 Gameweek outings.
In addition, Arsene Wenger’s side remain distracted by their Europa League campaign and again look set to rest players in Sunday’s fixture given that the semi-final first leg tie with Atletico Madrid arrives four days later.
The bigger issue for Arnautovic could be the availability of both Carroll and Chicharito, who were introduced on Monday as David Moyes chased the game.
Should they be considered for starts, Arnautovic could move back alongside the fit-again Manuel Lanzini in support behind a lone striker.
Hart at fault once more
Elsewhere, Joe Hart’s slip for Stoke’s goal could put an end to his four-match run of starts – it was the keeper’s second error leading to a goal over four appearances since replacing Adrian in Gameweek 30.
At just 4.2, Hart could yet provide the cheapest active goalkeeper option for Double Gameweek 37 but his security of starts and points potential are certainly both in question.
Meanwhile, Aaron Cresswell continues to catch the eye on the left side of the Hammers’ back three, having produced four shots on goal and eight crosses – a match-high in both cases. One of those deliveries supplied Carroll’s goal to give Cresswell a seventh assist of the season – a tally matched only by Ben Davies among FPL defenders.
More save points for Butland
At the opposite end of the pitch, Stoke City’s Jack Butland is now a short-term target ahead of Gameweek 35.
He and the Potters line-up were auditioning for spots in Free Hit squads ahead of a crucial home meeting with in-form Burnley.
Carroll’s late effort denied Butland a clean sheet, leaving him with just one in the last nine Gameweeks. However, over that spell, Butland has made 50 saves – including five on Monday – gathering 13 extra points, that’s more than any other goalkeeper in both cases.
In attacking areas, Stoke’s options surely remain limited to Xherdan Shaqiri, who appears the most likely to generate points from his No 10 role.
An assist for the Crouch goal was the playmaker’s eighth of the campaign and Shaqiri also claimed two bonus points, his first since Gameweek 28.
Indeed, the Swiss midfielder is now without a goal in six starts having struck three in three Gameweeks prior to that drought.
