West Ham’s humiliating 6-0 home defeat to Arsenal has prompted some supporters to question the continued selection of captain Kurt Zouma.
The Frenchman has struggled for form, and many fans on X believe he should be benched, with summer signing Konstantinos Mavropanos taking his place:
Mavropanos dropped for no reason after playing so well for weeks
Zouma needs to be dropped it’s as simple as that
— Ibby (@ibbywhu) February 11, 2024
Drop him and take the armband off him. He’s no captain
— Richard Vaughan (@richiejv) February 11, 2024
Zouma literally can’t move
— Harry (@arryyard_whufc) February 11, 2024
Will never understand why Mavro got dropped. Was playing so well for us
— Tyler (@Tylerwhu19) February 11, 2024
I’d rather bring back Ginger Pele than see Mavropanos, Zouma & Aguerd in a West Ham top.
— Kai⚒ (@KaiWHU_) February 11, 2024
Zouma, Coufal & Soucek are by far the most obvious that need to be dropped. Aguerd is the worse of the two evils, so there’s no changing him. Our midfield dynamic is all over the place, only Alvarez looks good. Bowen is far too isolated and drops way too deep for a ST
— GSEForever (@GSEforever) February 11, 2024
Surely, Moyes has to go with Mavs and Og (despite his advanced age) at the heart of defence against Robin Hoods’ mob next Sat. A case could also be made for Kaelan Casey to at least be in the match-day squad🤦♂️
— Tony Poole (@ogmorebyseakid) February 11, 2024
Injuries have taken their toll on Zouma
When the centre-back first arrived from Chelsea for £30m in the summer of 2021, he quickly became a fan favourite due to his immense aerial ability and recovery speed.
However, the 29-year-old has been struggling with a knee injury for quite some time and many believe his performances have suffered. There is no doubt that he has lost a yard or two of pace.
West Ham have other players out of form
It’s probably a bit unfair to simply focus on the captain’s poor form. His centre-back partner Nayef Aguerd hasn’t exactly been pulling up any trees recently either.
With the Hammers having failed to win since the end of December, all of the players need to take a good hard look at themselves. Very few have performed to their best.
Supporters will be demanding a reaction to the embarrassing loss to Arsenal when West Ham take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon.
