Paquetá Eyes Europe After Newcastle Triumph
Lucas Paquetá believes there are no limits to what West Ham can achieve this season, but for now, he’s laser-focused on Saturday’s visit of Arsenal to the London Stadium. After Monday night’s brilliant 2-0 victory at Newcastle, the Brazilian is brimming with confidence as he eyes another European adventure.
Paquetá was nothing short of sensational at St James’ Park. Named Player of the Match, he delivered a commanding display with 57 completed passes, 42 carries, and six tackles. Considering the ongoing FA betting investigation hanging over him, his performance was nothing short of remarkable. Let’s be honest, many (including myself) doubted if he could still perform at this level under such pressure. Seeing him rise to the occasion was great to see.
Reflecting on the season, Paquetá admitted: “We didn’t start as we wanted, but now we’re showing what we’re capable of. Europe is always the goal, and we owe it to the fans to push until the very end.”
The midfielder added, “Arsenal are a great side, but we’ve already beaten them twice last season, and that gives us belief. We know we can get a positive result.”
Tomáš Souček and Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s goals on Monday reignited our push for Europe, closing the gap to the top six to just four points. The Premier League is so congested at present that it’s typical for us to be looking nervously at the bottom three one week, then staring upwards the next.
Arsenal will undoubtedly be a toughie today, but if we can get through without too much damage, the following fixtures look very promising.
Allow Paqueta and Soler to mix it with Arsenal, they are skilled enough to give them something to think about. See if a proactive initiative can be gained rather than being reactive to Arsenal.
They definitely combined well on Monday. Good to see both enjoying their roles which obviously benefited the team performance.