OPINION
West Ham attacker Michail Antonio continues to be unable to deliver performances worthy of the Premier League and his display against Chelsea on Sunday must be the last straw.
The 5ft 10in tall 28-year-old (Source: Transfermarkt) had two golden opportunities to put the Hammers ahead against the Blues and earn them three points but instead he fluffed his lines.
The Hammers ended up having to settle for just taking a point from Sunday’s game, as it ended 0-0, and if Antonio had only converted either of his chances then it would have made a huge difference.
Manuel Pellegrini opted to have the 28-year-old lead the line for the Hammers against Chelsea instead of playing him on the wing like he has previously this season, but it didn’t seem to cause him to improve his performance.
Antonio was as disappointing upfront as he had been on the wing in his previous four league outings of the season and it is time that he was permanently axed from the Hammers first-team.
The 28-year-old looked like he had lost his ability to tear teams apart using his blistering pace, as he appeared very slow against the Blues, and without that, his poor passing and shooting accuracy is even more unbearable.
Antonio looks like being unable to play to a standard good enough to be a threat in the Premier League and the Hammers can’t bear wasting a position in their first-team on him any longer.
The 28-year-old once shone for the Hammers, but that seems ages ago now, and just because of his past glories, the club can’t afford to keep him around.
Given that he continued to struggle even when playing in a different position than normal during the Chelsea match then it must be the last straw when it comes to his first-team chances as he has been given enough opportunities at this point.
This all means that Pellegrini must wield a permanent axe on Antonio in order for supporters not to see him on the pitch in a Hammers shirt anytime soon.
