Early career Born in
Canning Town, East London, Noble played for Barking Colts and moved to
Arsenal's academy at age 11. His father, however, who would drive him to training, could not always arrange the time to get Noble to training sessions due to the distance between their home in
Beckton and Arsenal's academy in
Hale End. Noble supported local club
West Ham United as a boy, and grew up just one mile away from
Upton Park. Eventually, the club showed an interest in him and Noble signed as a youth player in 2000. He became the youngest player ever to appear in their reserve team, aged 15. He became a trainee in July 2003 and made his debut in the senior team at the age of just 17 in the
League Cup on 24 August 2004 in a 2–0 win against
Southend United, replacing
Luke Chadwick for the final 22 minutes of the game. On 8 January 2005, on his third appearance for West Ham, Noble made his first start for the club, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0
FA Cup third round win against
Norwich City. He made his league debut in the
Championship a week later, 15 January 2005, in a 4–2 defeat away at
Wolverhampton Wanderers. . Noble with trophy and flag Noble won the Young Hammer of the Year and the runner-up to the
Hammer of the Year awards despite making his debut only four months previously.
Loan periods Noble was subsequently loaned to
Hull City by manager
Alan Pardew in order for him to get some games. He made five appearances, Noble's loan ended early after he suffered an injury to his lower back. Noble signed a three-month loan in August 2006 with
Ipswich Town in the hope of gaining necessary first-team experience. He played 13 games in the Championship under manager,
Jim Magilton and scored his first professional goal on 12 September in a 2–1 home win over
Coventry City.
Return to West Ham Noble scored his first goal for West Ham against
Brighton & Hove Albion, the side's first of three in a 3–0 home win in January 2007 in the third round of the FA Cup, from an assist by
Carlos Tevez. On 4 March, he scored his first Premiership goal and the opening goal of the game, against Tottenham at
Upton Park in a game West Ham eventually lost 4–3 in the final seconds. He played 11 games in all competitions, scoring three goals in the
2006–07 season. He was out for several weeks in November 2007 after he had played through an injury for the last several months without letting the medical staff know. In January 2008, Noble scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Liverpool from the penalty spot, after Liverpool defender
Jamie Carragher had brought down
Freddie Ljungberg in the last few seconds of second-half added time. His performance in the match was described as "exceptional".
2008–09 season The
2008–09 season did not start well for Noble, as he was sent off for two bookable offences in a 3–0 loss away at
Manchester City, the first away game of the season. After serving his suspension he came back to score an equaliser against
West Bromwich Albion after West Ham went a goal down with West Brom coming back to win 3–2. This was one of five goals he scored in the season with three coming from the penalty spot. In April, he signed a contract extension tying him to the club until 2013.
2009–10 season Noble began the
2009–10 season well, scoring West Ham's first goal of the new season, in a 2–0 win over Premier League newcomers Wolves. Under Gianfranco Zola, Noble established himself in central midfield in a diamond that included
Scott Parker as his partner and
Jack Collison and
Valon Behrami on the wings. He would only score one other goal during the season – a penalty after
Habib Beye had fouled
Zavon Hines – in a 2–1 home win against
Aston Villa on 4 November 2009.
2010–11 season With West Ham now managed by
Avram Grant, Noble continued to be a regular member of the first team. He played 26 of a possible 38 games in the Premier League missing a month of the season after an
appendectomy as West Ham were relegated after finishing in 20th and bottom place. He scored four league goals; all were penalties including two in one game. On 2 April 2011 against Manchester United his two penalties had put West Ham 2–0 up only for
Wayne Rooney to score a hat-trick which, with another goal by
Javier Hernández, won the game 4–2 for Manchester United.
2011–12 season During the
2011–12 season with West Ham now back in the Championship, Noble scored eight goals, seven of which were penalties, Having twice previously been runner-up, Noble was named
Hammer of the Year for the
2011–12 season. In May 2012 Noble played in the
2012 Football League Championship play-off final at
Wembley Stadium against
Blackpool which West Ham won 2–1 to return to the Premier League after a one-year absence. By the end of the season, he had played 49 games in all competitions, missing just one of their Championship games. In February 2013, he was out injured after having been diagnosed with a compression of the
thoracic outlet. He did not return until 17 April 2013 in a 2–2 home draw against Manchester United.
2013–14 season Noble scored three goals in the
2013–14 season, the only one from open play being the second goal in a 2–0 away win over Cardiff City in January, despite the team being down to ten men after a
James Tomkins sending off. On 6 May 2014, Noble received his second
Hammer of the Year, beating runner up
Adrián and third-placed James Tomkins. On the same awards night, Noble also won the Players' Player of the Year accolade.
2014–15 season Noble missed a penalty in a 0–1 home defeat by Tottenham on 16 August 2014, the opening game of the
season, but scored his first goal of the season in the next home game, on 30 August, a 1–3 home defeat by Southampton. On 29 November 2014, Noble became West Ham's record appearance maker in the Premier League with his appearance against
Newcastle United being his 205th Premier League game, overtaking
Steve Potts. Noble signed a contract extension which would keep him at West Ham until 2020, with an option for a further year, on 26 February 2015.
2015–16 season and testimonial Noble's first goal of the season came from the penalty spot in a 3–4 home defeat by Premier League newcomers,
AFC Bournemouth on 22 August 2015. The following week, he scored the second goal in a 3–0 away win against
Liverpool; this was West Ham's first win at
Anfield since 1963. On 14 September 2015, following the departure of
Kevin Nolan, Noble was named club captain. Noble made his 350th senior appearance for West Ham on 6 February 2016, in a 1–0 defeat away at Southampton. The following week, he scored his third goal of the season, netting West Ham's equalizer in the 77th minute of their 2–2 draw away at Norwich City. On 22 December 2015, it had been announced that Noble was to be granted a
testimonial by West Ham following his long service to the club. The game was played on 28 March 2016 between a West Ham XI and a West Ham United all-stars team made up of former players, with all proceeds going to charity. The game was won 6–5 by the West Ham XI in front of 36,000 spectators and featured a goal by
Paolo Di Canio and two by
Dean Ashton, including a
bicycle kick described as "stunning". On 10 May 2016, Noble became the final man to lead a West Ham United team out at
Upton Park, as the Hammers went on to win their final game at their former home 3–2 against
Manchester United.
2016–17 season In March 2017 sections of
West Ham supporters called for him to be dropped from the team. Noble described the season as "the most difficult of his career". On 8 April 2017, having played against
Swansea City, Noble marked his 400th appearance for West Ham becoming the 19th player to pass this number. He played 35 games in all competitions for West Ham in the
2016–17 season scoring five goals, two in the
Europa League and three in the Premier League. His season finished early with two games remaining for West Ham as he required an abdominal operation.
2017–18 season Noble marked his 300th Premier League appearance with a goal from the penalty spot against
Stoke City on 16 December 2017. In March 2018, there were protests against
David Sullivan and the West Ham United board at the
London Stadium during a 3–0 home defeat to
Burnley. There were four pitch invasions with one fan approaching Noble on the pitch. In scenes described as "horrific", Noble grappled with the supporter, throwing him to the ground. On 5 May 2018, he scored the second goal in a 2–0 away win at
Leicester City, a result which ensured West Ham's survival in the Premier League. Noble described the goal, a
volley from the edge of the
penalty area, as "the best of his career".
2018–19 season Noble scored his first goal of the season on 9 February 2019, a penalty past
Vicente Guaita of Crystal Palace after he had fouled
Michail Antonio in the area. The game finished 1–1. Noble finished the season with five goals, including a brace on the final day of the season in a 4–1 win against
Watford.
2019–20 season Noble missed the first two games of the season due to injury, but started in the third game of the season, against Watford, scoring a third-minute penalty in a 3–1 win, the Hammers' first win of the season. This was his 25th successful Premier League penalty, with only
Shearer (56),
Lampard (43) and
Gerrard (32) scoring more. Noble marked his 500th appearance for West Ham on 17 July, earning an assist in a 3–1 win over Watford.
2020–21 season A week before the start of the 2020–21 season, Noble, as club captain, voiced his anger at the sale of West Ham player
Grady Diangana. On Twitter, Noble wrote "As captain of this football club I'm gutted, angry and sad that Grady has left, great kid with a great future". His views were supported by defender
Arthur Masuaku and many West Ham fans who expressed dissatisfaction with club owners
David Sullivan and
David Gold. Noble signed a new one-year contract on 9 March 2021, and announced that the 2021–22 season would be his final stint as a West Ham player. On 10 April 2021, in a 3–2 home win against
Leicester City, Noble made his 400th Premier League appearance.
2021–22 season On 16 September 2021, Noble came on as an 83rd-minute substitute for goal scorer and vice-captain – and captain of the fixture until being replaced –
Declan Rice in a 2–0 away win over
Dinamo Zagreb, making his first
Europa League group stage appearance and his seventh European appearance for the club overall. On 19 September, in the last minute of the game he had a penalty kick saved by
David de Gea in a 2–1 loss against
Manchester United after being substituted on just seconds before. On 25 November, Noble scored a penalty in a 2–0 Europa League tie against
Rapid Wien, marking his third European goal for the club. The win confirmed West Ham winning group H. In May 2022, West Ham announced that the Young Hammer of the Year award would be renamed the "Mark Noble Award" in honour of the player. Noble played his last home game for West Ham on 15 May in a 2–2 draw with Premier League champions,
Manchester City. He came on as a 77th-minute substitute in front of a sellout
stadium. In the 16th minute of the match, there was a standing ovation from both sets of fans for Noble, who wore the 16 shirt for the club. West Ham marked the occasion with a film with a voiceover from
Danny Dyer and
Ben Shephard presenting on the pitch. At the end of the game, City manager
Pep Guardiola hugged Noble.
Albert II, Prince of Monaco, head of the
House of Grimaldi and an admirer of West Ham, was in attendance to pay his respects to the player. Following the game, Noble was given a farewell by fellow players and supporters on the pitch. On 20 May 2022, West Ham named their new
academy pitch at
Chadwell Heath, the "Mark Noble Arena". On 22 May 2022, Noble made his final appearance for the club, in a 3–1 loss against
Brighton & Hove Albion, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute. In total, Noble made 550 appearances for West Ham, 414 of those coming in the Premier League, scoring 62 goals. ==International career==