Stephen Warnock tore into West Ham attacker Marko Arnautovic and claimed the player was basically just counting his money at the club.
The pundit shared that the 29-year-old made a big fuss about going to China before signing a new deal with the Hammers and then highlighted the fact the player boldly claimed he’d give everything for the club and that he was happy to stay put.
Warnock revealed he thought Arnautovic didn’t look happy and took a dig him by saying that if he is the top player he tells everyone he is, he needs to snap out of his current bad form.
“Yeah you’ve got to get him firing again, he made a big fuss about going to China and then he came out with a bold statement after he signed a new contract and said ‘I’ll give everything for the club and I’m happy to be here’ but he doesn’t look like it,” said Warnock on Football Centre (Sky Sports News, 11:52am, Friday April 6th).
“He’s basically just counting his money , he doesn’t look satisfied at all, but players go through lulls, bad periods, but if he wants to be a top player like he tells everyone he is, he can’t afford to have period like this.
“Especially at West Ham as he is their main man.”
OPINION
Warnock clearly doesn’t believe Arnautovic is pulling his weight at West Ham currently and doesn’t mince words. To say that a player is just at the club counting his money is probably one of the worst things you can say. This is because it implies that Arnautovic has the wrong motivations and that he is not putting in 100% effort. While West Ham fans would love to jump to the defence of the 29-year-old attacker, it’s quite hard to do that at the moment. Arnautovic’s recent displays have bordered on being unacceptable and he looks nowhere near being the player he was at the start of the season. While it’s often suggested the player not getting his wish to leave the London Stadium in January is the reason behind his form, Arnautovic has had many issues with injuries this season. The forward didn’t start the season 100% fit and you have to wonder whether injuries are also causing him to struggle for form, not just his attitude.
