Much-loved commentator John Motson has criticised West Ham United attacker Marko Arnautovic for seemingly seeking a move away from the club.
The player’s brother and agent told talkSPORT last week that the attacker wants to leave the club to move to China, and Motson admits he is disappointed with the situation.
“This is like Dimitri Payet all over again, where West Ham just get on a nice roll and then the best player wants to leave,” he told talkSPORT.
“I think it tells you something when a top player would rather play in China than play in the Premier League. Now, I’m only saying that for footballing reasons – of course, it’s the money. It doesn’t sit well with me, really. Not when he’s only just gone there and they’ve given him a good contract.”
OPINION
You can see where Motson is coming from, here. The Arnautovic situation is disappointing because he’s been playing out of his skin for West Ham and will likely be on big money at the London Stadium. Obviously he’ll get more going over to China, and that is clearly the motivation for him. It is a shame that someone as talented as the Austrian wants to go and play in China rather than continue playing for a top half Premier League side. The Arnautovic situation has been discussed ad nauseam now. The West Ham fans seem like they are sick of him because he continues to agitate for a move away when they have given him the platform to become the footballer he is today. He is tremendous player but no one is bigger than the club and so if he really wants to go then the club should let him leave. Like Motson says, it’s not for footballing reasons that he wants to go to China, so he should go and chase the money in China if he really wants to.
