Jarrod Bowen shows Gareth Southgate what he’s missing, Luton must struggle and West Ham can push for Europe – What we learned on Friday night

West Ham moved top of the Premier League table on Friday night with a 2-1 victory at Luton Town.

Jarrod Bowen scored his third goal of the season to give the Hammers the lead at Kenilworth Road.

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Kurt Zouma took the late lead but Mads Andersen’s stoppage-time goal left West Ham sweating in the closing minutes.

Luton thought they should have had a penalty in the final moments after a James Ward-Prowse handball.

However, nothing was given when the Hammers took the win, with talkSPORT.com taking a look at what we learned from the game.

Jarrod Bowen shows Gareth Southgate what he misses

After scoring the winning goal in the Europa League Conference final, you could forgive Bowen for his minimal league numbers last season.

The 2021/22 campaign has seen him score 12 goals and assist as many in 36 games, and he could do the same if not better this season.

An opening weekend draw against Bournemouth saw him back on the scoresheet with a fine curling finish from outside the area.

Bowen was quiet in the win over Chelsea but continued to shine against Brighton, scoring and assisting on the south coast.

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Despite his strong start to the season, Gareth Southgate overlooked him for his England side but he responded to the omission in the best way possible.

West Ham’s trip to Luton saw him produce the goods once again by showing a striker’s instinct to head into the opener.

So far, everything has gone well for Bowen this season, with David Moyes surely aware that he has a gem in his Hammers squad.

Luton could have a long season

Considering Luton were playing in the National League as recently as 2014, their rise to the top flight is nothing short of inspiring.

However, the Premier League has so far proved to be a rude awakening for Rob Edwards’ side.

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Brighton saw them off 4-1 on the opening weekend and Chelsea proved too much to handle in their 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge last week.

Kenilworth Road made their Premier League debut against West Ham but despite the electric atmosphere the Hatters still struggled.

Scoring isn’t necessarily a problem for them as they’ve already scored two goals – more than Everton and Burnley.

However, if they maintain similar performances for the rest of the season, they could very well end up in the Championship.

A top seven is predicted for West Ham

Moyes’ side reclaimed their 14th place finish in the Premier League last season with their Europa Conference League triumph.

But given their performance so far and the signings they’ve made, a top seven is by no means out of the question.

West Ham have now scored nine goals in four games and remain unbeaten at the top of the table.

The win over Chelsea was a statement in itself, with victory at Brighton giving fans even more reason to hope this season.

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A trip to Luton was a difficult task considering it was the Hatters’ first home game in the Premier League.

Although tougher competition is yet to come, the signs are already pointing in the right direction for West Ham.

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