West Ham: Aaron Wan-Bissaka the latest player thriving away from Manchester United chaos | OneFootball

Right-back is shining for the Hammers and has established himself as a key player under Graham Potter

In a throwaway comment at his press conference on Tuesday, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou explained why he feels the assist is “the most useless statistic in world football.”

The ball could deflect off someone’s backside near the halfway line, he explained, only for a second player to pick it up, do the rest, and score a solo goal. The assister, in that instance, has barely had an involvement in the goal and yet receives more credit through the assist stat than they deserve, Postecoglou said.

One thing is for certain: there was no taking Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s assist away from him at Arsenal last Saturday. The West Ham right-back deserved all the acclaim that came his way.

Wan-Bissaka ran the game down the right, and had the beating of Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori all ends up.

It was, in many ways, a snapshot of Wan-Bissaka’s season.

His move to the London Stadium has been a reminder of his lung-busting runs, unwavering energy levels, and has even brought on his attacking game, making the 27-year-old a more balanced wing-back. When deputising for Emerson on the left, he also looked comfortable.

The Tim Steidten-led transfer business of last summer has fallen flat as yet, with Guido Rodriguez and Niclas Fullkrug particularly ill-fated signings. Wan-Bissaka, though, has been the one undoubtedly shrewd acquisition, costing just £15million.

Palace knew what they had when they sold Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United in 2019, when he was a 21-year-old playing for England Under-21s. The offensive side of his game had yet to mature, but here was a young full-back who was a genuinely magnificent defender.

United knew what they were getting, too, paying all of £50m to bring him to Old Trafford.

But somewhere along the line Wan-Bissaka lost his way, lost confidence and, with it, form. But United lost sight of what they had, too, and moved to replace Wan-Bissaka with a more attack-minded player. Have Diogo Dalot or Noussair Mazraoui proven to be that, or to be better-balanced than Wan-Bissaka?

It seems West Ham, and Wan-Bissaka himself, are having the last laugh.

“He’s been really, really impressive,” Potter said this week, ahead of Thursday’s Premier League clash with Leicester.

“I think the wing-back role helps him, brings the best out of him. Away at Aston Villa, that game, the draw in the Premier League, and against Arsenal I thought he was really impressive.

“He can do both sides of the game. He’s working away, and we’re delighted to have him.”