Jarrod Bowen and West Ham United do not have to search too far back in the memory bank to find inspiration ahead of Sunday’s Premier League season opener against Manchester City.
The Citizens arrive at London Stadium as Premier League champions, but they were unable to defeat the Hammers across two east London meetings last term, losing a Carabao Cup penalty shootout and drawing 2-2 in the final home game of the campaign.
Bowen scored twice in that May draw, producing two unerring finishes to beat Ederson and he is focused on picking up exactly from where he left off last term.
Eighteen goals in 51 appearances across domestic and European competition saw the 25-year-old earn his first England caps in the summer, giving him yet more motivation to continue both his and the team’s progress.
“When we drew with them at the end of last season, the way we played that game exactly was what we worked on,” he explained.
“We knew we wouldn’t have as much of the ball as City, but when we did have the ball we needed to show that quality and that real clinical edge.
“We had a couple more chances in the second half and that could have made it a different game. They drain you with the ball, but as with every team they have their weaknesses too so we have to exploit them and we did that well.
“It’s a new season, a fresh start, but still we have to approach it in the same way we did last season’s game.”
The mindset is one that Bowen will take into the campaign as a whole, having helped his side reach the UEFA Europa League semi-finals in his first-ever European campaign and secure a top-seven Premier League finish for the second straight season.
Now the challenge is to keep on building that momentum, but Bowen sees no reason why the east Londoners cannot do just that.
“Now it’s about stepping up another level and doing exactly the same this season to keep progressing and progressing,” he continued.
“It’s been two-and-a-half years nearly since I signed and every season has seen progression. That speaks about the direction we’re going in and the ambition we have as a Club.
“The ambition we have as players too is to be a Club that finishes in the top six every season and not be a team that finishes in mid-table one season and Europe the next.
“So I think the main message is to keep improving as a team and help this Club move forward.”
Bowen is fully focused on ensuring that upward trajectory continues for David Moyes’ men but this season also includes an added incentive with November’s FIFA World Cup just around the corner.
And with that in mind, the former Hull City man has vowed to keep on working every day to find those improvements.
“I want to challenge myself every day because I want to keep going as a player, get to the next level as I think there’s still more to come from me
“Of course the next three or four months are massive for me. Being involved with England in the summer was great for me and left me wanting even more, to be in the next squad and not just be in one squad and that’s it. I want to be in the squad in September and then for the World Cup, that’s my aim, that’s my desire.
“First and foremost I want to help push West Ham on, but of course that’s in the back of my mind.”
