OPINION
West Ham United fought back from two goals down to rescue a 2-2 draw against Brighton on Wednesday night, and there were plenty of talking points to take away from the clash.
After a goalless and drab first half it was the visitors who took the lead through Dale Stephens before Shane Duffy doubled their advantage, but a quick-fire brace from Marko Arnautovic saw the Hammers salvage a point.
This is Futbol have picked out three things we learned about West Ham v Brighton below.
Noble has still got it
For all he has done for the club over the years, West Ham captain Mark Noble gets an awful lot of stick from the terraces. You are almost guaranteed to find multiple negative comments about him on Twitter whenever he plays for the club, but such remarks were few and far between on Wednesday. Noble did not start for the Hammers but came on in the second half to change the game with his purposeful passing from central midfield. His ball to Arnautovic for their first goal was delightful, and Noble has rightly been getting all the plaudits from fans after the match. It was a performance which proved the doubters wrong, with Noble obviously still having the ability to win football matches for West Ham United.
Carroll has to go ASAP
One surprise decision from boss Manuel Pellegrini came in the form of a start for striker Andy Carroll, his first in exactly a year for the Hammers. Hopes were high for a big impact from the big striker, but things did not exactly pan out that way. Carroll looked well short of both fitness and sharpness, as to be expected, and was totally ineffective for the Irons before being hauled off at half-time. Obviously it is still early days in his comeback from his latest lay-off, but it is clear that Carroll must leave the club as soon as possible. If they turn around and offer him a new deal there will be a huge backlash from fans, who are tired of the £90,000-a-week plodder. [Spotrac]. He is simply not good enough anymore, and getting him off the wage bill this month would be ideal.
Anderson must improve defensive work
Felipe Anderson has enjoyed a massively positive start to life in the Premier League, with the Brazil international netting eight goals already for the Hammers. Many of those came in a hugely successful December for the club-record signing, who has put any doubters to bed with his scintillating attacking displays. However, it is clear that Anderson still has a lot of work to do on the defensive side of his game, with West Ham exposed several times against Brighton down his left flank. The need for attackers to chip in defensively increases every Premier League season, and Anderson is going to have to get his head around that if he wants to really succeed as a West Ham player.