Graham Potter has easy West Ham choice after Alan Shearer praise. Graham Potter has had a somewhat slow start to life at West Ham after replacing Julen Lopetegui at the start of 2025.
Although supporters were initially optimistic about the appointment of Potter, he failed to ramp up the side immediately on his arrival and has faced several tough results already. However, a 1-0 victory against Arsenal on Saturday (22 February) means the boss has won two of his six league games in charge, with this victory surely a catalyst at the London Stadium.
Alan Shearer picks out Ollie Scarles
It was a good performance from the Hammers to get a win against Arsenal in a tough game.
The Hammers had just five shots in comparison to Arsenal’s 20 although both sides registered just two on target, showing how well the Irons did for Potter. Furthermore, Jarrod Bowen scoring in the 44th minute of the game meant Potter’s men had significant time left in which they had to see the game out, something they executed well.
Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card after 73 minutes only helped the cause but it was a professional display from the East London outfit.
As a result, it comes as no surprise that Alan Shearer picked out three members of the squad to be in his Premier League Team of the Week.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Bowen were picked out alongside 19-year-old Ollie Scarles.
Writing about Scarles, Shearer said: “In his first league start, the teenager played his part in a disciplined team performance, helping West Ham to keep their first clean sheet under Graham Potter.”
Potter has to use Scarles to his advantage
Scarles has shown plenty of promise in the youth set-up at West Ham for a while now and it’s no surprise that it is Potter who was keen to give him more minutes.
The boss is well-known for his ability to coach promising young players and turn them into assets either in a starting line-up or to be sold and raise money at a club.
It certainly seems as though Scarles could be next on that list. Despite being just 19 years old, the midfielder did not look out of place against a top Premier League side and, as Shearer said, completely held his own.
It’s not a total coincidence that Potter’s first clean sheet with his new side came with Scarles in the side and Potter will no doubt be eager to use him again in the hope of replicating this.
After a solid win, you can’t imagine the boss will be eager to make any changes to his side but this is surely only the start of the praise that will come Scarles’ way and Potter must know that he is someone worthy of retaining his place in the side.
