This West Ham first team star has performed way below expectations recently, which could see him benched for the foreseeable.
West Ham United resoundingly beat an Arsenal side midweek in the Carabao Cup that had only tasted defeat prior to RC Lens this season in the Champions League, David Moyes’ Hammers ruthless at the London Stadium as the Gunners lost 3-1.
Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus impressed again in this clash, Bowen helping himself to his seventh goal of the campaign already in all competitions whilst Kudus netted only his second goal to date in his new claret and blue colours.
Not every player for the Irons covered themselves in glory from this fantastic night however, with Said Benrahma registering fewer touches than Hammers goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski (19 – 38) and, in tow, he unfortunately let the contest pass him by.
The ex-Brentford winger must be dropped, therefore, for West Ham’s next match in the Premier League away at his former team, after the Algerian attacker played like a passenger in the EFL Cup, today.
Substituted off in the 81st minute for James Ward-Prowse, West Ham’s number 22 was unable to provide any cutting edge down the right wing with the other attackers stepping up to the mark to spare Benrahma’s blushes.
The 28-year-old forward failed to register a single effort on Aaron Ramsdale’s net per Sofascore with the stand-in Gunners goalkeeper looking shaky all contest, ineffective with his 19 touches on the ball when he was found by a fellow Irons’ shirt.
Fabianski in the West Ham goal would have double the touches of the underwhelming attacker with 38, his centre-back teammate Nayef Aguerd coming in with a far superior 59 touches also per Sofascore.
Accurate with 10 of his 11 passes on the night, Benrahma still could not quite muster up an assist with Moyes hauling him off the London Stadium pitch with nine minutes remaining.
He must be binned by Moyes completely when West Ham make the short journey across from Stratford to West London today to play Brentford, with Benrahma not at his best whatsoever in recent weeks.
Benrahma’s numbers this season
Rooted to the bench against Aston Villa and Liverpool, the 21-time Algeria international has seen his minutes with the Irons slashed this season.
The winger was only afforded 33 minutes on the pitch in total versus Everton to make a lasting impact, unable to break down a resilient defence.
With Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen, and Lucas Paqueta all regularly picked ahead of him, Benrahma does run the risk of being completely frozen out by Moyes if he does not improve his output.
Only picking up one assist this campaign on top of zero goals, West Ham’s number 22 – who has made 146 appearances for the club – could be moved on sooner rather than later out of the building.
His individual performance against Manchester City sticks out as another below-par display, albeit he was only given 22 minutes to make an impact against Pep Guardiola’s title-chasers.
The ex-Brentford man couldn’t conjure up any magic to help his side when introduced, losing his only ground duel of the contest when subsituted on alongside being unsuccessful with his one dribble attempt per Sofascore to kickstart a rare Hammers foray forward.
Given a rare first-team start against Arsenal and underperforming in the process, Moyes’ decision whether or not to include Benrahma for his side’s next Premier League match will be an easy one.
The Algeria international must make the most of his next opportunity to shine on the pitch as another disappointing display could put further doubt in the manager’s mind when considering whether or not to start him in the future.
