West Ham captain Mark Noble is not generally known as a flair player. The 32-year-old usually leaves the flashier parts of the game to his teammates but he showed against Chelsea at the weekend he is capable of a trick or two.
The Hammers talisman was in danger of being crowded out by Chelsea duo Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount, but the midfielder calmly dragged the ball back and found his way out of trouble:
He's class isn't he? #MrWestHam pic.twitter.com/CXIrtea7cY
— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 2, 2019
Supporters on Twitter feel Noble is a very underrated player:
The Canning Town pirlo
— Brad Baker Neale (@BakerNeale) December 2, 2019
Mad how he ain’t got one England cap
— Sam Harding (@samharding_93) December 2, 2019
Running the show as per
— Ben Mason (@b_mason1991) December 2, 2019
Get ready to name the Noble stand on the last year he plays for us ⚒
— Rob Ives (@RobIves8) December 2, 2019
Cruyffing'ell
— Matt Ware (@Matthew_Ware_II) December 2, 2019
Like a fine wine
— lockylockwood (@jasonlock87) December 2, 2019
@James___Aston he’s like Luca Modric mixed with pirlo
— Austen Harris (@manlikeausten) December 2, 2019
Deserves a call up to the England squad
— T (@t1grogan) December 2, 2019
Noble was reportedly the inspiration behind the Chelsea victory, in more ways than one. Declan Rice revealed that a team talk from the skipper before the game helped to motivate them to get the three points.
Of course, one result doesn’t make up for the poor start to the season, but the players will be hoping to use the derby win as a catalyst for an improved run of form over the coming weeks.