OPINION
If it wasn’t demonstrated already by his club Player of the Year award last season, or his status as top scorer for his team last campaign, Marko Arnautovic’s importance to West Ham was on full display once he came off against Arsenal on Saturday.
The Austrian was having a terrific game at the Emirates, putting the Hammers ahead with a smart finish past Petr Cech having been put through on goal by the impressive Felipe Anderson.
It was unfortunate, then, that his afternoon was curtailed early. The forward was substituted off after an hour with the match level, having scuffed a shot into the ground and appearing to move gingerly from that moment on.
He was replaced by Javier Hernandez, but the Mexican failed to offer anywhere near the threat that his predecessor posed, succeeding merely in falling repeatedly offside.
Arnautovic has always been a talented player, of course, it’s what secured him a loan move to Italian giants Inter Milan when he was just 20 years old. Over the past year or so, though, he’s managed to utilise that talent on a far more consistent basis.
His big money move to West Ham a year ago seems to have focused him, motivated him to be the player that everyone thought he could be. He netted 11 goals in 35 games in his first season at the London Stadium, providing the rare cheer that Hammers fans experienced last term.
Manuel Pellegrini knows what he has in the 29-year-old, that’s why he named him captain. This is a maverick in the vein of Eric Cantona and Paulo Di Canio, he needs his ego massaged a bit for him to perform at the peak of his powers.
Pellegrini’s side didn’t look anywhere near as dangerous once Arnautovic departed, and the Gunners went on to score twice to secure victory. It’s a third straight defeat for West Ham, and the manager will hope his star man’s injury isn’t too serious.
The Austria international will be key if the club are to pull themselves out of the hole they currently find themselves. He is undoubtedly the most talented player wearing claret and blue, and his half hour absence against Arsenal only reinforced that fact.
