OPINION
West Ham’s left-sided flyer Arthur Masuaku is available again after the international break and manager David Moyes has no choice but to throw him straight back into the starting XI.
The 24-year-old has been absent for the last six league games as he served a ban for spitting on Wigan midfielder Nick Powell in the FA Cup.
He has been punished with a lengthy absence away from the pitch and will have surely been advised by those closest to him about the seriousness about the offence.
However, the Hammers need to put that behind him and give him another chance in the starting line up.
The London-based club have really struggled during his absence and suffered four defeats in the six games.
However, they lost just once in the previous nine league games he played and he can give the side a major lift ahead of the next crucial match against relegation rivals Southampton.
Masuaku is a left-back by trade and can also play in a more advanced role, something he has done to good effective already this campaign.
The electric wide man has brilliant pace and trickery, plus he quite often gets supporters on their feet when he goes on attacking dribbles.
Masuaku must come straight back into the side and Patrice Evra has shown that at 36 age has started to catch up with him.
West Ham host Southampton on 31 March in their next game and a defeat would see them drop into the bottom three.
The club’s supporters are very doom and gloom right now and there was a toxic atmosphere in the recent 3-0 defeat to Burnley, but the return of Masuaku should be seen as a big positive if he is ready to come straight back into the XI.