OPINION
There is no doubting who West Ham’s number one striker is this season – but how much is the Irons’ reliance on Marko Arnautovic affecting the player himself?
The Hammers have seen the Austrian hitman miss just two Premier League games this season with starts in the other 10, and they have been rewarded for handing him a regular chance in the line up with five goals and an assist to his name.
However it is not all plain sailing for the 29-year-old, who was forced to sit out one of those two games through injury, as it seems the problems have refused to ease up.
Delivering a revelation over his fitness, Arnautovic told Salzburger Nachrichten: “I can not say if I’ll get an injection on Thursday (on international duty). In the knee, fluid accumulates again and again. Of course there are people who say they should spare themselves and do nothing for a week, but it’s just difficult.”
Arnautovic and the West Ham medical staff will know that fully treating the injury will require a spell on the sidelines and as such it seems he is managing the problem with injections – but how long can that continue?
The more he puts off sorting it out, the worse the issue will be, and it is for that reason Manuel Pellegrini needs to swing the shock axe on his head after the international break and hand a rare start to Javier Hernandez, who has just two Premier League starting XI outings to his name this season.
Up next for the Irons is Manchester City and resting Arnautovic in a game which they are expected to struggle in gives them more chance of success against teams they have more of a shot against.
Arnautovic wants to play but the rest will do him the world of good ahead of a hectic festive period, and in his place should come Hernandez.
It is a difficult situation for Pellegrini to manage but one where he must realise that a sacrifice now will result in more success later down the line.