Emerson was one of several players from last season who had been underperforming for West Ham under Julen Lopetegui.
As pressure continued to mount on the Hammers’ Spanish head coach, there were valid observations that a group of former David Moyes favourites had failed to shine this campaign. Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paquetá, and Emerson himself were all under the microscope as new signings like Max Kilman and Aaron Wan-Bissaka hit form shortly after joining.
Emerson’s form was so poor that not only did he find himself substituted, but right back Wan-Bissaka was used in his position and arguably performed better.
Therefore, it was highly encouraging to see the Italian international play so well against Ipswich and get involved in the build-up to Kudus’s headed goal.
Granted, it was only Ipswich, and he will undoubtedly face a far sterner test against Brennan Johnson in two weeks. However, there was plenty to be pleased about for Emerson, who said: “I think we did very well after some not-so-good results at home. We won and we played well. I think it was a good result, and now we need to stay on this path.
“I think we put in a lot of intensity, a high press, and all the time we tried to play for this. We consistently aimed to score, which is good. With possession as well, we did it very well. We maintained a high press for all 90 minutes, so I think we deserved this result.”