First it was Freddie Potts, now it was Callum Marshall’s turn to receive an almighty show of faith from Nuno Espirito Santo as West Ham United lost 2-0 at Premier League challengers Arsenal.
And, while one point from two admittedly very tough away games is hardly an explosive start to life in the Hammers dugout, Nuno Espirito Santo’s decision to make the club’s next generation integral to an attempted revival has earned him immediate praise.
Nuno made the ‘brilliant’ decision to re-call Freddie Potts at Everton last Monday night. The midfielder’s first appearance since August.
The sight of Potts entering the fray at the Emirates five days later, flanked by fellow youngster Callum Marshall, certainly put a rare smile on the faces of the travelling supporters on an afternoon when West Ham United failed to record a shot on target from a measly 31 per cent possession.
The West Ham faithful have been clamouring for Callum Marshall’s involvement during a run of four goals in three appearances for Mark Robson’s Under-21 side. They would get their wish at the Emirates.
Nuno Espirito Santo explains why West Ham United’s Callum Marshall came on at Arsenal
Nuno rewarded Marshall with his Premier League debut, and his first senior Hammers appearance since the FA Cup defeat to Bristol City in early-2024.
And, post-match, he explained the decision to bring 20-year-old Marshall on ahead of a 33-year-old Callum Wilson.
“First of all, let’s be correct, I said it personally, it’s not easy to put a young lad in front of Callum Wilson,” Nuno says. “It’s important for us, as soon as possible, to have total knowledge of who we have in the squad.
“The main reason behind that is we are going to need all of them, and we have hope that the young lads will bring new things.
“What I have been seeing in training sessions, [Marshall has] energy, he is a good finisher, has good mobility, he can realise the gaps in the space. He has a good chance up against a very strong centre-half and he managed to get the header.
“I think we have something we can use. We have three strikers available; [Niclas] Fullkrug, Callum Wilson, and Marshall. Different solutions and different options going forward.”
While this was a day to remember for Marshall, one suspects El Hadji Malick Diouf would rather scrub it from memory.
Diouf struggled to deal with Bukayo Saka throughout, and gifted the Arsenal talisman a golden chance to add to Declan Rice’s opener when he fouled Jurrien Timber just after the hour amrk.
While the left-back’s challenge was argued by some to have taken place outside the penalty area, Nuno had no complaints about the decision after talking it over with referee John Brooks.
“I was talking to the referee about it,” the former Tottenham boss explains. “He said the contact started outside but finished inside, so [I have] nothing to say.”
Nuno determined to use the international break to Hammers’ advantage
At full-time, Crysencio Summerville revealed what Nuno told the squad. West Ham, the manager said, must take the positives into the international break while continuing working on their development under a new head coach.
“Tough. Very tough. We knew it. We expected it. It was really tough,” Nuno sighs. “Arsenal put us against the ropes in many parts of the game. We were not really able to go out and run. A tough game.
“This week, there has been a lot of new challenges, new things, changes. The international break is going to be very useful in terms of settling down the mind and focusing, but all the aspects of the game we have to address.
“We spent hours and hours talking about what we have to address; to create unity more, more togetherness, knowledge on both sides. [We need] hard sessions on the training ground, trying to correct and improve the things that we do.
“Today, for example, it is hard to pick conclusions and really address and be truthful because we are frustrated. We are disappointed. But we were organised, compact, we improved slightly on our positioning in set-pieces against a tough opponent.
“At the same time, there is a lot of negatives, [especially] in possession. We lack a bit of mobility. But it was two tough opponents we faced away from home.”
