Farewell King Arthur

So Arthur Masuaku has gone on a season's loan, with an option to buy, to Besiktas. He couldn't defend very well in a back four but was a different proposition as a wing-back. Arthur was with us for all six seasons at the London Stadium and had enough moments to make himself a bit of a cult figure. 

No-one will ever forget his Messi-like lob over Chelsea's Mendy last season. Arthur modestly claimed it was a cross but he protested too much, as actually it was a moment of genius. He seemed to like playing against Chelsea, as another of is best performances was a mesmerising game at wing-back in the 1-0 victory during Moyes' first spell at the London Stadium, when Chelsea just couldn't get the ball off him. Then there was some memorable ball-juggling against Spurs which features on most his YouTube highlights. As my WHU colleague Matt tweeted, "world-beating at times, infuriating at others". Though on last season's form he really was better than Lukaku. Here's a picture of Matt's prized Masuaku mug. Good luck in Turkey, Arthur.

Headlines you never thought you'd see...

King Arthur we salute you... a great London Stadium moment. Always good when an unexpected player scores. Reminiscent of the time the ball came over and Frank Lampard Snr fell over and scored the winning goal at Elland Road  — and when the great Steve Potts netted his only goal in the 7-1 demolition of Hull City.
 

Chants would be a fine thing

Where have all the chants gone? Sitting in the pub after the Macclesfield game my pal Matt pointed out that with so many new players in the side, we've not had time to think up chants for most of them. Of the side that played Man United probably only Arthur Masuaku (who is better than Lukaku) and Mark Noble have their own chants. Even Arnautovic doesn't appear to have a song, apart from the Stoke-style chants of "Arnie! Arnie!". 

Some of our injured or dropped players have chants and songs, namely Adrian, Lanzini, Andy Carroll and Winston Reid. But the new boys are bereft of songs. In fact our last really good song was something about a certain French midfielder. 

Someone on the Facebook group Upton Parklife suggested that Yarmolenko might scan to I'm Gonna Be by the Proclaimers ("Yarmolenko! Yarmolenko! Der der, der, der, der, der, der, der!" etc) which is promising. On current form Declan Rice deserves a chant ("he's not Irish anymore!"?) as do Issa Diop, Fabian Balbuena, Lukasz Fabianski, Arnie and Felipe Anderson. Any suggestions?

Stop! Hammer Time: the joy of Arthur's socks

Great fun appearing on the Stop! Hammer Time podcast with Phil Whelans and Jim Grant last night. We discussed the Chelsea game, Chicharito's equaliser, Arnie and of course Arthur Masuaku's penchant for making holes in the back of his socks to minimise the strain on his muscly calves. (Or have the moths in our trophy cabinet got into the dressing room?) This lead to a discussion on kit modifications including Paolo Di Canio's too tight shorts worn back to front, Dicksy's ripped collars and Diamante's snood. To listen to the Stop! Hammer Time podcast click on this link.

Hammers sign king Arthur

Good news is West Ham have finally signed a new left-back having completed a four-year deal for Olympiakos's Arthur Masuaku. At 22 he's won the title twice with Olympiakos and has played in Ligue 1 for Valenciennes. He's also played in the Champions League and for the French Under-19 side so should be real competition for Cresswell. As it is he's guaranteed four of five months in the side while Cresswell recovers so should have plenty of time to bed in. Meanwhile Swansea have accepted West Ham's £20 million offer for Andre Ayew, but Swansea appear to be waiting to sign a replacement before the deal goes through.