Tomáš Souček dedicated West Ham United’s win over Leeds United on Friday night to Arthur Masuaku, after the Hammers wing-back was forced onto the sidelines last week with a knee injury.
Masuaku had started ten Premier League games in a row, playing an integral role as his team enjoyed a positive start to the 2020/21 season, but had to undergo surgery on a long-standing knee issue ahead of the trip to Elland Road.
Hammers boss David Moyes changed the shape of the team with Masuaku injured and Soucek felt they adapted well.
“This game was incredible for how we played. I think we deserved to score many goals because we created three or four excellent chances even before half-time,” he explained.
“I’m happy with how we played. We changed our shape because Arthur unfortunately has an injury. We played today for him, and I wish him a quick recovery. I want to give today’s win to him because he had been playing very well for us.”
Souček more than played his part too, levelling with a towering first half header after Mateusz Klich had given the hosts an early lead.
“I say every time I have to give credit to my team but it is good for me and my mentality because when I score the goal it makes me feel better on the pitch,” he added.
“When I can help the guys with the goals, defending and scoring goals, is the best way for me and for the guys too.
“I’m happy, especially as we had to react after we started very badly and they had to retake the penalty. That was hard for us mentally, but we still played well and I’m happy I could help my team by scoring the goal to make it 1-1.”
With Crystal Palace visiting London Stadium on Saturday, Souček knows the Hammers cannot rest on their laurels as they continue to look upwards in the table.
He continued: “We were playing well and we wanted to score the winner on Friday, not only stay and defend our box. The luck had to go our way, so in the first half we could have scored maybe three or four goals, and it was similar in the second.
“We defended very well, especially against Leeds, because everyone knows it is one of the hardest games because they run everywhere. We played in our shape very well and it’s a good win.
“It is a good start for us but we cannot sleep but carry on and training like this. Everyone is happy so we have to carry on and try to win our next games.”