Arsene Wenger believes Dimitri Payet has been unfairly singled out for criticism in France and England after West Ham’s poor start to the season.
Payet was the star player in West Ham’s remarkable final season at the Boleyn Ground last term and earned a nomination for PFA Player of the Year for a debut campaign at West Ham that saw him provided 17 assists and 15 goals in all competitions.
But after spending the summer at Euro 2016, where he was one of France’s star players, Payet has struggled to consistently hit the heights he reached last season, though he remains one of the top performers in a West Ham side battling just a point above the relegation zone.
Former Arsenal player Paul Merson claimed on Friday that “if it wasn’t for West Ham nobody would have ever heard of Payet” and others have questioned why the France international has not been at his best over recent months.
However no player has created more chances this season than Payet’s 46 and Wenger, whose Arsenal side face West Ham at the London Stadium on Saturday, insists that criticism of the 29-year-old is unfair.
“Payet is, even for France, one of the star players,” Wenger said. “He has fulfilled his potential maybe a bit late in his career. West Ham were certainly one of the triggers for him, to come into English football, to have to adapt and show that he has potential.
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“Not only did he convince everybody in England last year that he’s a top-class player, but through those performances he also won his place in his national team’s European Championship squad.”
West Ham have endured a rocky start to the campaign, their first since leaving the Boleyn Ground, and find themselves in a battle against relegation few predicted for a side that finished seventh last season after spending much of the year challenging for a Champions League spot.
Their poor start has seen pressure mount on manager Slaven Bilic but Wenger is convinced the Croatian can turn things around at the London Stadium.
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He said: “I have sympathy for every manager because I know what you go through when you don’t always have the expected results. I think he has done a very good job there and that he has built a very strong squad. I’m sure that will come out in the long run.”
