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During their 3-3 draw with Arsenal at the London Stadium this afternoon, plenty of West Ham United fans weren’t impressed by the performance of Said Benrahma – with many Irons supporters believing he was ineffective against the Gunners. 

Benrahma, who was taken off in the final 15 minutes by David Moyes after struggling to double up against Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Calum Chambers, couldn’t get on the scoresheet after being handed a start.

The Algerian, signed permanently from Brentford at the end of January, did enjoy a handful of fine moments – most notably managing to dribble his way inside the penalty area and put in a low cross for Michail Antonio who failed to convert the great chance late on.

However, these moments were debatably few and far between, with plenty of Hammers supporters left unimpressed by the 25-year-old as they took to social media – one called the Algerian a “fraud”, while another moaned that he “offers nothing” to the team.

Benrahma did not have a shot all afternoon, lost possession 10 times during the match and recorded just 16 accurate passes – among the outfield players in the Irons’ starting XI, only Jarrod Bowen had fewer. [SofaScore]

Scroll down below for a flavour of the online reaction.

West Ham fans tear into Benrahma

“Another Benrahma disasterclass

Get this fraud off”

Credit: @Joelwhu_

“Bowen and Benrahma uninspiring and embarrassing. Real shame when everyone else is putting in a shift.”

Credit: @pato2867

“Benrahma offers nothing”

Credit: @CzechSzn

“Nah Benrahma has had a stinker today”

Credit: @Ellis_XVI

“Benrahma been poor”

Credit: @MattIngram28

“Benrahma passenger”

Credit: @JimmyMundee

“Benrahma is frustrating to watch, one week he’s decent causing issues, the next he’s causing issues for us”

Credit: @_chowellWH6

Read more: plenty of West Ham fans flocked to this news, find out more here.

Southampton face Everton on Monday night looking to end their dreadful recent form, although it couldn’t be a much tougher fixture for Ralph Hasenhuttl, especially considering the Saints’ woeful record at Goodison Park.

The South Coast club’s last win at Goodison Park came 24 years ago in 1997, so Hasenhuttl’s side will have to be at their best if they want to end this hoodoo and take three points away from Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

If the Austrian manager wants to arrest the current run of form, then he should consider switching to a five-at-the-back formation against the Toffees.

With the match likely to come too soon for both Kyle Walker-Peters and Ibrahima Diallo, the Austrian manager may well be tempted to select Jan Bednarek at right-back again, as he has done for recent fixtures.

However, playing five-at-the-back would allow the Polish international to move back into central-defence, alongside Jannik Vestergaard and Mohammed Salisu, who has impressed in his first few appearances for the club, despite the disappointing results.

This would also offer protection to 20-year-old Kayne Ramsay at right wing-back, who, after signing a two-year contract extension recently, looks to be a candidate to feature on Monday night.

Having three central defenders in the box could also work to nullify the aerial threat of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with the Englishman having scored more headed goals than any other player in the Premier League this season.

With the Saints’ defence having looked extremely vulnerable in recent weeks, Hasenhuttl has to do something to give Alex McCarthy more protection, and having five defenders in front of him could be one way to frustrate Everton.

Considering the disappointing recent form of forwards Nathan Redmond and Che Adams, Hasenhuttl would arguably not be losing too much attacking output if he were to sacrifice one of them for an extra defender, given that his wing-backs would be given a bit more licence to get forward.

The Toffees have lost surprisingly at home against Fulham and Newcastle United recently, and this tactical switch could be exactly what is required for Hasenhuttl’s side to cause their own upset and end their 24-year hoodoo at Goodison Park.

And, in other news… Saints suffer fresh injury blow ahead of Everton, Hasenhuttl must now rely on 28 y/o

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, ex-Tottenham captain Gary Mabbutt has challenged Harry Winks to keep proving himself to win back his place in Jose Mourinho’s side.

Winks has fallen down the pecking order in recent months, and hasn’t started a Premier League game since the draw with Fulham back in January.

The England midfielder had been a regular during the early parts of the campaign, although the excellent form of both Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Moussa Sissoko has seen the Spurs graduate restricted to mainly outings in the Europa League in recent months.

Winks came back into the side for a brief period around Christmas, but with Mourinho recently opting for just two central midfielders in a more attacking-minded set-up, his last few appearances have all come in the FA Cup and Europe.

And when speaking exclusively to FFC, Mabbutt has revealed what Winks must do in order to start playing regularly again. He said:

“I mean, when Harry first got in the side, I did an interview with Harry and I said he could be a future captain of Spurs, and last year against Wolves he was made captain for that game.

“Players have to look at where they are and have to move on from there, see what parts of the game that could be improved and keep working at it. And that is it. You don’t get to be a professional player and play your first game in the Premier League and you made it, it never works that way.

“Every single game you’re out there and you have got to prove yourself. It’s not like, you’re say a top singing star in the world and suddenly you have 20 hits and then 40 years later you get on stage and everyone’s cheering you for those 20 hits you had 40 years ago.

“As a footballer, you make your debut in the last game you played, in the next game you play you’ll be lambasted. Every single game you have to go out there and you have got to prove yourself.”

Mabbutt is spot on here. Things can change quickly in football, and a few positive performances from Winks in the Europa League could suddenly see the midfielder come back into the frame.

Wolverhampton Wanderers transfer target Diego Costa is “absolutely unbelievable” but there are concerns about his potential salat and and his general attitude.

Howey has much love for Costa

Those were the words of the former Newcastle and Manchester City defender Steve Howey, who was speaking on the back of the Black Country club’s links with the former Chelsea striker.

Costa was recently released by Atletico Madrid by mutual consent and was earning a salary of £265k-per-week, according to Salary Sport. This is 165% more than Wolves’ top-earner Joao Moutinho takes home, as Spotrac believe his £100k-per-week wages tops the books.

Despite this, the former Spain international has scored a total of 181 goals with eight different clubs – 58 of those were at Chelsea in what was a memorable spell due to his aggressive style of play and no-nonsense character.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern about Costa potentially retiring to the Premier League, Howey was full of praise for Costa but he admitted that he did have his own anxieties about the player.

“I think most managers would want him,” he said. “I think the difficult thing is trying to contain him because he has got that flip switch, and then you’re wasting your time, so you need a strong manager. He is a player to lead the line and take responsibility and to ruffle feathers, he’s absolutely unbelievable. He’s perfect for any club really, who wouldn’t want him?

“(However) there are two concerns. First of all, the money and, of course, his temperament, and I think that worries managers. Can you afford to take a chance on somebody that, on his day, is excellent, but (you’re unsure) about what he’s going to be like in training, is he going to be a nightmare off the field?”

“The vast majority of managers would take him in a heartbeat, but you’ve got to weigh up all the different issues that you have with him.”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

If Wolves captured Costa, it would send a huge statement to the teams around them that Nuno’s side are not here to make up the numbers.

With the player having a close relationship  with super agent Jorge Mendes, the man behind plenty of Wolves transfers in the past, it might play into Wolves’ hands, but his huge salary may be a step too far for them to get a deal done.

Time will tell whether Wolves will make the move for the two-time Premier League winner, as their search for a replacement for the injured Raul Jimenez continues.

In other news, Ex-referee Mark Halsey flags up incident that Wolves were ‘unlucky’ to lose out on.

Wolves’ win over Arsenal on Tuesday evening was crucial. Going into the game, the Molineux outfit hadn’t tasted victory in the Premier League this year so it was a welcome return to form.

That being said, it cannot paper over the cracks of what has been a dismal few months.

On the chalkboard

Since Raul Jimenez suffered a horrendous fractured skull, Wolves have been in diabolical shape. They have won just four times in all competitions following on from that, but alarm bells started to ring well before his injury in November.

The Old Gold have kept only a solitary clean sheet in the league since October and with Nuno tinkering between his formations, it has led to inconsistency.

That has clearly been the case in central midfield – an area you’d traditionally associate with class and vigour.

However, in Joao Moutinho, they have a player who is struggling this season. The Portuguese returned to form against Arsenal by scoring a thunderbolt from long-range but before that, the veteran had failed to score this term.

He is usually the man to set the tempo and pick the locks of Premier League defences. Yet, he has been way off the boil this season and has failed to register a single assist.

It’s led to Wolves reporter Tim Spiers claiming this could be the midfielder’s final campaign as a regular in Nuno’s starting XI. It certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if that conclusion was reached.

Unleash Otasowie

Moutinho’s passionate display against the Gunners can’t afford to gloss over what has been a timid and tired campaign for the 34-year-old.

You can hardly blame his weary legs due to the amount of football being played on a regular basis but that’s exactly why Owen Otasowie deserves more minutes.

The American has only appeared five times for the senior side and was handed a surprising Premier League debut against Chelsea. He started behind the striker on that occasion but usually, he plays in a more holding or box to box midfield role.

He has boundless amounts of energy and for Wolves’ central area that could be game-changing. It’s hard to suggest that Leander Dendoncker, Ruben Neves and Moutinho are too mobile so the 20-year-old may add something new.

Speaking about the £1.3m-rated talent earlier this year, Scott Sellars summed up his qualities perfectly: “He’s versatile. His physicality is his biggest strength. He’s really good at protecting the ball and at one-v-ones, with and without the ball. A lot of his development has been done in cages in London and you can see that with him. He’s got a lot going for him.”

His growth in the game has been very different from the more cultured progression of Moutinho. Though, his personality is no different. Like the Portugal international, he has an infectious persona and a positive outlook on football.

Sellars added: “He’s bright, he challenges the norm, which I like about him. He won’t just say, ‘Yeah, that’s OK, I’ll do what you say’. He’s got personality. I’ve had some interesting and very honest conversations with him about where he’s at, which he appreciates.”

We’re yet to see Otasowie truly burst onto the first-team scene but it surely won’t be long before we see him making a bigger impression.

After all, the way he gallops forward is unlike many others in the Wolves team. Nuno simply has to consider the youngster over the next few months.

AND in other news, Nuno must unleash rarely-seen Wolves flop next term, Jota called him a “good signing”…

Edinson Cavani stole the show to send Manchester United into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, having produced a Man of the Match-worthy display against Everton on Wednesday night.

Cavani scored his fourth goal of the season and his second against Everton before Anthony Martial came off the bench to put the game beyond the Toffees.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have been pleased with the performance the Uruguay international produced upon his return to the starting line-up, as he led the line with great aplomb and dropped deep into his own half to bring others into play.

It’s the sort of display United fans will have been expecting to see from the 33-year-old, who has now racked up 12 appearances across all competitions since he first arrived at Old Trafford in the summer.

Solskjaer was effusive in his praise for the former Paris Saint-Germain striker after he scored in the 2-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park.

“Edinson Cavani should’ve scored three in the first half,” Solskjaer said, via quotes by The BBC. “But he is a top striker – his movement, quality. The goal was excellent.”

While Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba pulled the strings from the midfield, Ed Woodward’s bargain buy once again proved his worth to United against Everton, as Cavani took 40 touches of the ball and made one key pass, as per SofaScore.

No player from either side could match or better his tally of seven shots in total, as the Uruguayan centre-forward took four shots on target, one shot off target, missed one big chance and had one shot blocked, while he also only lost possession five times in his 90 minutes on the pitch,

Cavani was also fouled twice before the final whistle blew at Goodison Park, won three out of his six ground duels (50%) and provided one accurate long ball.

He also successfully completed his only dribble attempt of the game, wasn’t dribbled past at all and made one interception as well, which shows that he was a real handful throughout the game.

His performance alone more than merited their place in the League Cup semi-finals before substitute Martial sealed the win with the last kick of the game against Carlo Ancelotti’s side at Goodison Park.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Former Hull City striker Dean Smith says Jadon Sancho shouldn’t join Manchester United…

While speaking exclusively with Football FanCast, Carlton Palmer has urged Carlo Ancelotti to back Everton prospect Anthony Gordon over signing Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira.

Everton is believed to be in talks with Khedira over an 18-month contract that will see the German move to Goodison Park in the January transfer window. He is no longer needed at the Allianz Stadium, according to the Express.

The 33-year-old has been given permission to travel to England to meet with the Toffees earlier this week, with Juve desperate to offload Khedira’s £184,000-per-week contract ahead of the 2014 World Cup winner becoming a free agent in the summer.

Everton would need Khedira to take a drastic pay-cut to finalise a move to the Premier League, where his initial deal would feature an option to extend by a further year.

Ancelotti is thought to be confident the midfielder, who he worked with at Real Madrid, still has something to offer at an elite level, despite not playing a single game in any competition this season and making his last Juventus appearance more than a year ago due to injuries.

But former England international Palmer would disagree, and urges Ancelotti to put plans to sign Khedira on hold in order to offer space for Gordon to truly breakthrough into the Everton first-team.

“Yes. 100%, 100%. Khedira would be a gamble now.

“He’s been a top-draw player, no arguments about that, German international, won every honour in the game. But, for me, that’s a gamble. It’s a gamble paying a lot of money for a player who I don’t think has played 35 games in two and a half seasons,” Palmer told Football FanCast.

“It’s a lot of money for player, he’s proven experience. He’s proven that he’s got quality. But also, I think the one thing about Khedira, for me, in the Premier League [he] would find it difficult. He’s got good ability, good touch, but the pace of the game, I think the game would leave him behind.”

Khedira made 39 appearances across all competitions in the 2017/18 campaign but saw his game time reduce to 17 outings the following season and 18 last term, with injuries seeing his season end in November before being cast aside by new Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo.

The German won the 2013/14 Champions League under Ancelotti while the duo were at Real Madrid, before lifting five Serie A titles in Turin to add to previous success in La Liga, the Bundesliga, FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

Ancelotti frequently trusted Khedira during his time in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu, featuring 35 times outside of injuries, but is yet to back Gordon to a similar level with the 19-year-old starting only six of his 16 appearances to date and playing only 87 minutes in the Premier League so far this season.

AND in other news, Everton can reach a new level by signing a “complete” £31.5m-rated maestro in January.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former footballer Carlton Palmer has made a major claim on Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.

The Austrian manager’s side have enjoyed a superb start to the 2020/21 Premier League campaign, currently sitting in fourth position in the Premier League.

The South Coast side have bounced back superbly after losing their first three games in all competitions this season, picking up excellent wins against Everton and Aston Villa, as well as a superb 3-3 draw against Chelsea.

However, Palmer still seemed to think that the 53-year-old has room for improvement with the Saints, as he told FFC:

“The boy at Southampton, I still think he’s got a lot to prove. He’s done well so far.”

The Saints showed a sign of things to come with their form in the Premier League following the restart last season, with Che Adams and Danny Ings in particular impressing, and their form this season has also been superb.

Since being appointed in December of 2018, the former RB Leipzig manager has taken charge of 78 matches at the Saints, in which he has won 31, drawn 16 and lost 31, resulting in a PPM of 1.40 (per Transfermarkt).

The Southampton board were certainly justified in their decision to keep faith in Hasenhuttl last season when things were not going the Austrian’s way as although it was for less than a day, the Saints’ win against Newcastle United recently took them top of the Premier League table for the first time in their history (per BBC Sport).

It will be interesting to see if Hasenhuttl can take Southampton to another level and keep them challenging at the top of the table, although they may struggle to keep hold of him if recent reports linking him to the Manchester United job are to be believed.

Fulham face another tough away game in the Premier League this weekend, as they face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Scott Parker’s side picked up an impressive three points in their last top-flight fixture, winning 2-1 away at Leicester City, to pick up their first three away points of the season.

However, they now face a Manchester City side that thrashed Burnley 5-0 at home in their last Premier League game, so the Cottagers will have to be at their best if they want to take anything from the game.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Parker to line his side up against the Citizens, with two changes from the side that beat Leicester City…

Parker should keep faith in his goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who has put in some impressive displays of late, whilst the defensive set-up also stays the same for the game at the Etihad.

The first of two changes comes in midfield, with captain Tom Cairney replacing Harrison Reed. The Scottish midfielder, who earns £40k per week at Fulham, will be relied on to be a creative force in this Cottagers side when they get the chance to push forward against the Citizens, whilst Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be important as the box-to-box midfielder in Parker’s starting 11.

Frank Zambo Anguissa also keeps his place after an impressive display against Leicester City, and the Cameroonian will surely be important again if Fulham are to avoid defeat against Guardiola’s side.

Meanwhile, there should be one change in attack, as Aleksandr Mitrovic replaces Bobby Dedorcova-Reid, as Fulham may be reliant on a striker to hold the ball up, and the Serbian can be effective as a target man, whereas the former Bristol City striker may be better off as someone who can make an impact from the bench for this particular fixture.

Unsurprisingly, both Ademola Lookman and Ivan Cavaleiro keep their place in the starting line up after scoring the goals last time out, and both will surely prove to be vital for Fulham in their attacking play on Saturday.

It will be interesting to see if Parker’s side can build on their victory last time out, but they couldn’t have asked for a much harder game to follow up their last three points with.

And, in other news… Tony Khan must see off PL competition to sign “absolutely outstanding” winger 

Celtic allowed left-back Boli Bolingoli to head out on loan this summer to Turkish side İstanbul Başakşehir and consequently were left with only one left-back at the club in Scottish international Greg Taylor. Neil Lennon took his time but finally found his replacement for Bolingoli on transfer deadline day.

AC Milan defender Diego Laxalt made a loan move to the Scottish champions to give them some healthy competition in the left-back position. This now raises the question as to who Lennon will favour in that role and former Celtic star Frank McAvennie has given his opinion on the matter.

What did McAvennie say about Celtic players Laxalt and Taylor?

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie believes that Taylor now has a battle on his hands to remain in the starting XI. He said: “Greg (Taylor) has not had anyone to challenge him for his place since he has been there and now he has got a fight. Taylor will relish it and he will be watching Laxalt.

“One thing we do know about Laxalt is that he will be able to defend. They teach you how to defend in Italy.

“This boy has some engine so I will be expecting him to burst forward, because that is the modern game, but I am sure he will also be a great defender.”

Does Taylor have a battle to stay in the Celtic XI following Laxalt’s arrival?

The majority of Laxalt’s games last season were on loan at Torino, and his stats back up McAvennie’s views when it comes to defending. The Uruguay international featured 16 times in Serie A and averaged 1.2 tackles and 1.1 clearances per game, via WhoScored.

That is similar to how Celtic’s first-choice left-back Taylor has performed in his eight Scottish Premiership matches so far this season, per WhoScored. He has managed 1.4 tackles and one clearance on average in 2020/21.

However, Laxalt might come in as cover to begin with, as Taylor offers a bit more in attack – along with his three assists (compared to Laxalt’s one), he has averaged 1.3 key passes per game this season, whereas the Uruguayan only averaged 0.4 key passes.

There is no doubting the quality of Laxalt, as he has featured 24 times for Uruguay, per Transfermarkt, and has an abundance of experience in Serie A.

The healthy competition should bring out the best in players but Taylor might still keep his place for now. However, he should know that one slip in form and Laxalt is waiting in the wings to replace him.

Hoops fans, do you think Laxalt will immediately supplant Taylor at left-back? Comment below with your views!