West Ham United captain Mark Noble has given his perspective on the speculation surrounding Hammers attacker Marko Arnautovic.
The 29-year-old seemed to argue with manager Manuel Pellegrini after being substituted against Birmingham City last weekend, and has since been the subject of a £35million bid from an unnamed Chinese club, according to the BBC.
Noble has given the inside scoop: “Marko Arnautovic has again been the centre of attention — showing his frustration after being substituted against Birmingham and then the transfer speculation,” he wrote in his Evening Standard column. “I’m not qualified to comment on transfer stuff on any player because it’s nothing to do with me, but I know he loves this club — and we love him.
“With regards to being substituted, the touchline staff thought he was feeling his back but he said he was fine, so there was a breakdown in communication. He was frustrated because he had scored and probably thought he could get one or two more. I know he spoke to the manager afterwards, though, and everything was fine.”
OPINION
We’ve heard many times before that Arnautovic loves West Ham and that the club, of course, loves him. However, his brother and agent continues to make comments about him leaving the Hammers, something he wouldn’t do if Arnautovic was truly happy at the London Stadium. Whether he loves the club or not doesn’t really come into it if he feels like he’d rather be somewhere else. The situation against Birmingham was a bit bizarre. Arnautovic scored and was looking good but was then substituted off after about 20 minutes. He got into it a bit with Pellegrini before he stormed down the tunnel, which perhaps prompted this Chinese club to come in and make an official bid for him. His future is uncertain and there’s no guarantee that he’s going to be staying in East London but, don’t worry, ‘he loves the club’. There is no such thing as loyalty in football so take Noble’s words with a pinch of salt.
