OPINION

West Ham had a terrible day at the office on Saturday as Manchester City cruised to a 4-0 victory to make them comfortable at the top of the Premier League.

Man City didn’t get out of third gear and while the Hammers had opportunities to score, they didn’t take any of them and condemned their supporters to a miserable weekend.

Manuel Pellegrini sent out an attacking side to go head to head with Pep Guardiola’s team of world-class talent and he certainly learnt a thing or two from the result.

Forever West Ham has rounded up three things learned about the Hammers after their loss to Manchester City on Saturday.

Arnautovic is a worry

Marko Arnautovic appeared to aggravate an injury in the final stages of the match and was deemed not able to continue. The Hammers had used all three subs at this point and the fact Arnautovic left the pitch, shows just how unable he was to go on. The Hammers’ star man didn’t have a fantastic time against Man City by any account but the London club know that it was just an off-day for him due to the calibre of opponent. If Arnautovic is set to be stuck on the sidelines for any length of time, no matter how brief, it’s a worry as he is clearly the main source of goals at the club. Yet given the fact he seemed unable to run due to his problem in the final minutes of Saturday’s clash, the likelihood is that Hammers supporters should prepare to cope without him for next weekend’s clash. 

Hernandez stood-out for right reasons

Javier Hernandez came on as substitute during his side’s defeat to Man City and actually stood out for the right reasons. The veteran forward has never lived up to the hype that surrounded him upon his arrival but on Saturday, there were glimpses that he was capable of making fans think positives thoughts about him in the near future. While Hernandez didn’t register a goal or an assist, as soon as he entered the pitch he looked determined to make a difference. Given that the player’s body language has at times suggested otherwise, this was a positive sign by all accounts.

Perez is a lost clause

In a polar opposite display to Hernandez, 2018 summer recruit Lucas Perez entered the game at the 68th minute mark and quickly performed a piece of magic by disappearing. The former Arsenal player was making his eighth appearance for the Hammers and no doubt had some fans wishing it was his last. Perez replaced Felipe Anderson, who did struggle despite glimpses of his class, and exceeded all expectations by performing worse than his Brazilian teammate. In fact Perez looked like a lost cause during the game as he woefully looked unwilling to run or go the extra mile to somehow gets side back in the match. While the Hammers did face an impossible task in turning the game around upon Perez entering it, you would have thought that the player himself would have wanted to make a case for why he should play more. However instead his attitude and lack of effort made you want him to be kept far away from the team.