Stuart Pearce believes that West Ham fans will be quick to forgive striker Marko Arnautovic after his Chinese Super League transfer saga.
The Austria international was the subject of a big-money bid from China this month, with his agent stating that he wanted to leave the club, but the 29-year-old has now confirmed he has decided to stay.
Former Hammers ace and assistant manager Pearce has now weighed in on the situation, and he is of the belief that supporters will quickly learn to love the striker again.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “The West Ham fans were never really anti-Marko even when there was transfer speculation. It won’t take long for them to love him again.”
Stuart Pearce says #WHUFC fans will quickly forgive Marko Arnautovic ⚒️
How do you feel Hammers fans? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/8TBIpcAvCJ
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) January 26, 2019
OPINION
It is impossible to say how West Ham fans are going to react to Arnautovic’s return to action, with there being a big divide between supporters with regards to the situation. Some, as Pearce says, were never too bothered about the fact that Arnautovic considered leaving the club this month. Those fans will obviously be ready to welcome the Austria international back into the fold when he does return to the match day squad. There are however those who were angered by his actions, believing that he had shown an alarming lack of loyalty to a club which had placed a lot of faith in him. That is a totally understandable viewpoint, especially considering the way that he and his agent went about things. Those fans will obviously be less welcoming when he comes back, but if he works hard and starts scoring again, then Pearce could well be right.
