West Ham – Opinion
Every team has that one player with an illustrious past, swashbuckling style coupled with a hefty price tag. And yet, they end up with underwhelming performances. For West Ham, it is Marko Arnautovic – who is also their record signing. Slaven Bilic failed in getting the best out of him and now it is David Moyes’ responsibility to somehow do the uphill task.
Arnautovic is undoubtedly talented, but he has struggled to adjust to life at West Ham. As the season progresses, their competitors are getting better results, and the Hammers need to improve as soon as possible. For that to happen, Moyes will have to push Arnautovic to perform better. If the new manager establishes a good relationship with the striker, it could be just what he needs to improve going forward.
Although West Ham shelled out a big sum for him, Arnautovic has struggled ever since he moved in the summer. He has not scored a single goal or provided an assist in 7 Premier League appearances. To make matters worse, Arnautovic picked up a red card during their defeat at Southampton. The forward has failed to live up to expectations so far, which has prompted many to speculate that he could be nearing an exit in January. However, Arnautovic is unstoppable when in form, and that should prompt Moyes to consider keeping him for the time being.
After all, the club invested greatly in him only a few months back, and it is honestly too early to let him leave. Everybody deserves a fair chance, and while some may argue that the player has already received too many chances, it is important to note that he made a similarly slow start at Stoke. In fact, he scored only one goal for them before the end of the year but then went on to enjoy an upward trajectory in form during the second half of the season.
That could happen for him with the Hammers as well, but it all depends on how Moyes communicates with him. Although the manager will be under pressure to offload players to rebuild the squad, it is too early to let Arnautovic leave even though he will bring in some decent cash.
We have all seen what he is capable of, and perhaps he needs to be coaxed in the right direction to regain his lost glory. The fans will hope that Moyes is able to set up a good relationship with him to bring the best out of the player.