The Irons were defeated 4-1 on Sunday (October 22), with Jarrod Bowen scoring the only goal under David Moyes early in the second half before goals from Douglas Luiz, Ollie Watkins, and Leon Bailey made sure the Hammers would leave the London Stadium empty-handed.

While very few West Ham players left Villa Park with any praise, Jenas was eager to criticize Paqueta for what he called a sloppy performance, even raising questions about the Brazilian’s mindset.

I thought they were pretty terrible, he stated on Match of the Day 2 on Sunday, October 22.

“Paqueta here, I mean what a player he is and he’s been brilliant for West Ham, but you can’t do this. For me, he just strolled around today. He looked like he was in one of those moods where ‘if you get me the ball, I might do something special.’

“If not, you get that side of me. I just thought from a West Ham point of view they’d kind of got past these moments, but it was a worrying sign.”

Wandering around

On Sunday at Villa Park, none of the West Ham players stood out, and even if Paqueta was not at his best, he was just one of many players on the visiting team who found it difficult to have a significant impact on the game.

Alphonse Areola may also be criticized for failing to block Douglas Luiz’s shot, which was reasonably close to him, and for his back pass to Edson Alvarez, which left a lot to be desired. He should have done more to monitor Douglas Luiz for Villa’s opening goal, but he could also be criticized for his failure to do so.

Paqueta’s concentration has been a problem with his game so far throughout his time in England, and during the past 18 months he’s always been able to lose focus in important situations. If he wants to improve his game, he will need to become more reliable.

If the Hammers actually hope to qualify for Europe once more this season, they must find a way to win these games, especially given their recent record versus Aston Villa.