Adrian Durham has claimed that West Ham fans are “done” with Marko Arnautovic.
The Austrian has struggled for regular game time after trying to force through a move to China in January, and was booed off the field when substituted against Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Durham argued that he wasn’t surprised by the indignation of the home support.
He said: “Ever since he said he wanted to go to China, the fans were done with him.
“When he said he wanted to go China to win things nobody really believed that, come on! What was even worse was when he stayed and signed a new contract, West Ham released a video on Twitter of him saying this and that.
“I thought blah, blah, again nobody believed a word of it. That was just a lame, PR exercise. West Ham fans aren’t gullible.
“His stock is low with supporters now and I’m not surprised whatsoever.”
OPINION
Football fans aren’t stupid. Long after their mercenary heroes of today have moved on for bumper contracts in foreign climes, they will still be there, week in week out, watching their side religiously. That kind of dedication means that they’ve seen it all before, and where Arnautovic is concerned, it’s no real surprise that they’re not buying his prodigal son act. It might have been a different scenario if he had come straight back into the side after his Chinese transfer debacle, but Manuel Pellegrini has made it very clear that he wasn’t ready for that inclusion prior to this weekend. That hardly sounds like a player delighted to have signed a new deal with the club that he wanted to be with all along. The Austrian couldn’t have been more open about his desire to walk away from the club in January, and that kind of conviction doesn’t just dissipate overnight. Durham is right, the new deal did feel like a PR stunt, and come the summer, you would not be surprised to see Arnie head for the exit door.
