OPINION
West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski has regularly come to his side’s rescue this season and there is now a jaw-dropping stat to support just how important he is to the Hammers.
The Premier League’s official Twitter account revealed on Wednesday that the Hammers shot-stopper had made the most saves in the division this season so far by a notable distance.
Fabianski has made 15 more saves then second-placed Cardiff City keeper Neil Etheridge and while it’s impressive how many shots the 33-year-old has stopped, it does lead you to question West Ham.
?#PL pic.twitter.com/wAROCyzcvE
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 20, 2019
Despite having the keeper who has made the most saves this season, the Hammers have still conceded 46 goals this season and clearly it would have been way more if they didn’t have an in-form shot-stopper between the sticks.
The Hammers are still being carved open way too often for opponents to have shots on their goal and it’s a key issue that Manuel Pellegrini still needs to address.
The Hammers’ full-back options still don’t scream defensively sound, especially since Pablo Zabaleta’s form has dipped, and at times the side’s defending from set-pieces has been woeful.
Pellegrini may need to change personnel to see his side’s fortunes improve, but what is clear, it’s still an area for the experience boss to work on.
The Hammers manager has been generally successful at the London Stadium since arriving in the summer, however when you consider the Hammers shipped 68 goals in the league last season, he always faced a mammoth task fixing the side’s defence.
Yet while Pellegrini has got that number done and has brought a keeper to the club as talented as Fabianski; this stat about the shot-stopper shows there’s still work to be done.