I left West Ham last summer and now I’m captaining my club in the Champions League. History is full of footballers who have bounced back from a difficult spell in the Premier League. West Ham United can claim more than most.
Gianluca Scamacca lasted just one injury-hit season at the London Stadium but, returning to Italy with Atalanta, ended 2023/24 with 19 goals to his name.
Felipe Anderseon was a man revived after being welcomed with open arms back at Lazio. Edimilson Fernandes scored as Brest beat Slavia Prague in the Champions League.
And, speaking of the Champions League, a player West Ham United sold as recently as May – to the tune of £9.5 million – had the honour of leading his team out on Europe’s biggest stage on Wednesday night, with the captain’s armband around his bicep.
Thilo Keher is not Monaco’s official skipper, it should be said. That honour goes to Denis Zakaria, the former Chelsea loanee who plays alongside the aforementioned Fernandes in the Switzerland national team.
But, with Zakaria injured as a Bukayo Saka-inspired Arsenal cruised past Monaco 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium, it was Kehrer who stepped up and embraced the armband.
Former West Ham United man Thilo Kehrer now a Champions League captain. It’s been quite the turnaround for Kehrer.
While his two years with The Hammers will unfortunately be remembered for some unfortunate mistakes – the penalty he gave away just 20 minutes into his debut was a sign of things to come – you do not earn 27 caps for Germany while playing over 100 games for Paris Saint-Germain without possessing serious talent.
And with Monaco sitting joint-second in Ligue 1, and still well placed to secure a spot in the Champions League knockout phase, that Arsenal reverse stands out as a rare dark spot on Kehrer’s otherwise impressive 2024/25 copybook.
“We were in a good match but we made too many mistakes,” Kehrer said in his post-match press conference, fronting up to Canal Plus in his role as skipper. “We gave away gifts.
“We lost the ball too many times, especially without [being under] pressure.”
Monaco rue mistakes as Bukayo Saka hits Arsenal brace
Saka scored twice – the second coming after an almighty mix-up in the Monaco backline – while Kehrer himself was unable to nick in front of Kai Havertz as his Germany team-mate tapped in a third late on.
“With the qualities in front of us, Arsenal punished these mistakes,” adds the former Schalke youngster. “We know they were better [than us]. We have a young team. We have to take this match as a lesson.
“We have to bounce back. We have two difficult matches against Aston Villa and Inter, two teams with a lot of quality. We have shown in other matches that we [belong] at the level.
“But Arsenal, they were better.”
“At this level, it is not possible, not acceptable, to make such mistakes which are downright gifts,” head coach Adi Hutter agrees. “And yet, we were lucky that Arsenal missed a lot of opportunities.
“On the other hand, I am really satisfied with the way we attacked the second-half, playing the courageous football that I want to see.
“We have a very young team. Unfortunately, the gift on the second goal is too much at this level.”
