Neither Aaron Cresswell or Arthur Masuaku were able to truly impose themselves as West Ham United’s main left-back last season.
The former managed 18 Premier League starts, while the latter made 19, with Ben Johnson filling the gap for the other match.
This offers an indication of just how inseparable the pair were in the mind of Manuel Pellegrini throughout the campaign.
It seemed as though Cresswell may struggle to hang onto his place in the side again this campaign, when he was dropped for four games following the 5-0 defeat to Manchester City.
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However, the Englishman has not looked back since Masuaku’s red card for two bookable offences against Aston Villa, failing to start just one of the following 12 league matches.
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During that time, he has got on the scoresheet three times, with a free-kick against Manchester United, a half-volley to get a draw at AFC Bournemouth and the winner against Chelsea.
On top of his goals, Cresswell has been making a stellar defensive contribution, averaging 2.3 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and 1.4 clearances per game.
An example of how important he can be defensively came against Arsenal, but it was when he was forced off through injury that it truly became apparent.
During his 51 minutes on the pitch, the Hammers didn’t concede once, with the Englishman doing well to keep Nicolas Pepe at bay, making four tackles, four interceptions and one clearance.
However, by the time the clock reached 70 minutes, the Ivory Coast international had recorded a goal and an assist, having got the better of Masuaku twice.
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For the goal, Pepe cut inside West Ham’s number 26 before curling the ball into the top corner, while the assist came from Masuaku making a weak attempt at blocking his clipped ball to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
With this in mind, it is difficult to see Cresswell losing his place in the team, especially after the clean sheet against Southampton, meaning that Pellegrini’s selection dilemma could finally have been resolved.
In other news, Danny Mills has been full of praise for a West Ham veteran.
