Arne Engels made his West Ham United debut this afternoon, but it was one to forget for the Belgian international as he and his teammates endured a torrid time as the Hammers slumped to a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of London rivals Charlton Athletic…
The EFL’s most expensive signing of all time played the entire 90 minutes, but failed to impress as his new club failed miserably in a game that they were overwhelming favourites to win.
And now Arne Engels is already feeling the heat as numerous Hammers supporters took to social media to slam the 22 years olds performance, although he wasn’t the only one to have their finger pointed at them.
Here’s just some examples on social media this evening from irate Hammers supporters…
£22m down the drain Arne Engels stinks again https://t.co/zB2w9yLQDN
— Ghost (@ghostofSanFran) August 22, 2026
“Is Engels playing? why is our midfield just Kilman and Orford.”
“£22m for Engels looks a bigger robbery than Brinks Mat”
“Engels, Kante, Scarles, Kilman all wouldn’t get in a League 1 side.”
The London club have high expectations, and are naturally expected to get promoted back to the Premier League at the first attempt, and after failing to win their opening two fixtures, the heat is well and truly on.
Mixed fortunes for Daizen Maeda & Arne Engels today on their competitive debuts, a 2-1 victory for Ipswich Town v Sunderland and a 2-1 loss for West Ham v Charlton, tougher tests ahead for both pic.twitter.com/aOLy63ULYr
— Giampaolo Mazzone (@PMJawn) August 22, 2026
This one was more positive for Arne…
If there’s any positive for West Ham today, Arne Engels played a good shift. Looks a solid player in the midfield, and I like the idea of him and Soucek or Orford together.
— Kdot knows ⚽️ (@kyleghammers) August 22, 2026
Arne Engels, being such a high profile and expensive recruit, will naturally be getting the most heat, but he’s only played one game for his new club, and will have to get acclimatised to his new surroundings. Given time, he’ll be fine but that Championship is a tough old league to get out of and the start by West Ham is hardly encouraging.
The Belgian who cost Celtic a then record £11 million back in 2024 when he arrived from Bundesliga side Augsburg. He managed to handle the pressure of being a big money Celtic signing to go onto make his mark in the Hoops.
He’s more than capable of making the grade in East London, but West Ham supporters will have to be patient, and given time, Arne could become well prove to be a vital player for the Hammers and who that drives them to success.
One thing that Engels certainly left Celtic with was a will to win every match and that winning mentality could be vital for a side that suffered a damaging relegation last season and has got off to a dreadful start in the Championship.
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