- Aaron Cresswell ready to face former West Ham United teammate Victor Moses
- Left-back first faced Chelsea wing-back in an FA Youth Cup tie when he was just 16
- No3 was turning out for Tranmere Rovers, while Moses was in action for Crystal Palace
As he prepares for the challenge of slowing down Victor Moses, Aaron Cresswell revealed that he has known about the Chelsea player’s talents for longer than most.
Cresswell was 16 and Moses just 15 when Tranmere Rovers travelled to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace in the FA Youth Cup fourth round in January 2006. Despite his tender years, Moses was the star of the show, inspiring the Eagles to a 3-1 victory, and leaving an impression on Tranmere’s young defender.
Eleven years on and, after spending last season as teammates, the pair are set to square-off again at London Stadium on Monday night, with left-back Cresswell set to come up directly against the Blues’ flying right wing-back.
“Vic spent a year with us here and he’s a great lad, and he’s really kicked on and shown what he is all about this season,” he said. “Some people questioned if he would ever fulfil his potential, but since Antonio Conte has come in, he’s taken to it and had a right go and has arguably been one of their best players.
“Vic is a very laid-back and chilled character, but since their new manager has come in, he’s really got his head down and worked hard and it looks like he’s going to win the Premier League.
“His ability was never in question. He has fantastic talent and I remember playing against him in the Youth Cup when he was at Crystal Palace and he was 15 and even at that age you could see the ability that he had.
“I’m looking forward to the game because you want to play against the best teams and the best players and Chelsea have certainly got them.”
Vic has fantastic talent and I remember playing against him in the Youth Cup when he was at Crystal Palace and he was 15 and even at that age you could see the ability that he had
Aaron Cresswell
While Moses is in the form of his life, Cresswell knows Chelsea possess quality all over the pitch, with every one of the eleven players knowing their role precisely in Antonio Conte’s favoured 3-5-2 formation.
Since moving to three centre-halves in early October, Chelsea have lost just two of 20 matches in all competitions – at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and, of course, at London Stadium in the EFL Cup.
Despite being one of only four teams to defeat the Blues this season – Liverpool and Arsenal did so before Conte’s tactical switch – Cresswell knows West Ham need to be at their best to defeat the runaway leaders.
“Of course we know it’s going to be a tough game as they are comfortably leading the Premier League,” he confirmed. “They’ve been fantastic under their new manager and since they’ve changed formation we have seen what a good team they really are.
“If you play 3-5-2, it certainly makes being a wing-back a physically-demanding position to play, as you have two jobs to do at once. Chelsea have got the personnel that fit perfectly into that formation and they’ve really kicked on since they changed to that formation.
“We’ve played that system a few times ourselves, so we know what that formation is all about but, regardless of that, we know it’s going to be a tough game. We beat them 2-1 earlier this season and I’d definitely take that again, but they’re a top team so we’ll need to be at our very best.”