OPINION
West Ham United laboured to a 2-0 victory over Championship side Birmingham City in their FA Cup third round clash on Saturday.
Buoyed by an early Marko Arnautovic goal after just two minutes, the Hammers coasted through a comfortable second half until Andy Carroll doubled their advantage late on.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini was able to hand playing time to a number of fringe first team stars, and on the most part they didn’t disappoint.
As usual there is plenty to be gleaned from the contest, and Forever West Ham has rounded up three things that can be learned from West Ham’s victory over Birmingham.
Pellegrini risking Arnautovic’s wrath
Arnautovic seemed as surprised as anyone when he was hooked after about 20 minutes on Saturday. The big Austrian had opened the scoring and was looking lively in the early goings, but that couldn’t save him from an early shower.
It appeared that midfielder Samir Nasri was indicating to the bench that the 29-year-old had picked up some sort of injury, but the player’s reaction to the substitution would suggest that that’s wasn’t the case.
Arnautovic is someone who needs an arm around him to perform to the best of his ability. Pellegrini is risking his wrath by making questionable decisions like this. Let’s hope the Chilean can smooth it all over.
Writing on the wall for Carroll
Yes, the former England international got a goal in stoppage time late on, but his overall performance would indicate that he’s not going to be sticking around at West Ham for long.
The gangly frontman just doesn’t seem to fit with Pellegrini’s style of football, making him a square peg in a round hole when he’s playing up front.
Pellegrini likes nice, intricate build up and clever passing, and that’s just not Carroll’s game. Even the goal he scored was the product of an approach which certainly wasn’t Pellegrinian in nature. He’s a decent player, but not for this Hammers team.
Nasri looked lively in debut
This was the perfect opportunity for Pellegrini to give January signing Nasri a run out to see what he’s got left in the tank. A fair amount, it would seem.
The Frenchman produced some nice touches and seemed to enjoy linking up with the likes of Arnautovic and Grady Diangana. His influence waned as the game went on and he was eventually substituted, but there was enough in this performance to give West Ham fans encouragement ahead of the second half of the season.
If he can build on this display and return to something resembling the player who shone for Arsenal and Manchester City then Pellegrini will be delighted.
