Jamie Redknapp has slammed West Ham forward Marko Arnautovic as selfish as he questioned whether the player can reproduce his brilliance under ex-manager David Moyes.
The high-profile pundit singled out the Austria international in his weekly Daily Mail column in an analysis of the Hammer’s wretched start to the season.
Arnautovic has started all four of West Ham’s league matches – he played the full 90 minutes of Saturday’s defeat to Wolves – and responded with two goals but Redknapp believes something is missing.
“Marko Arnautovic is the star man but sometimes when I watch him I wonder whether he is playing for himself and not the team,” Redknapp told the Mail. “How can Pellegrini motivate him to become the snarling forward who under David Moyes struck fear into defenders?”
OPINION
There have been huge changes in personnel at West Ham this summer, with Manuel Pellegrini tasked with overseeing a more progressive style of play than predecessor Moyes would have implemented after being handed a £100million summer transfer kitty. But one thing that has not changed is that Arnautovic is the spearhead of the attack and the player regarded as the most likely source of goals. The Austrian was brilliant under Moyes in the second half of last season after initially struggling following his 2017 transfer from Stoke City. He has begun the season okay, scoring against Bournemouth and Arsenal, but his performances have been nowhere near as menacing as they were before the summer recess. That is despite the fact he has better players behind him – Jack Wilshere, Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko were all providing the supply line against Wolves – who should help make him even more potent. Redknapp is perhaps missing the point with ‘Arnie’. He is so effective partly because of his ego and one-eyed pursuit of centre-stage. West Ham under Pellegrini just need to find a way to coax the best from him.