OPINION
To say that West Ham’s 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City on Saturday was a disappointment would probably be an understatement, although it was probably not too much of a surprise either.
The Hammers were 3-0 in the opening 45 minutes and offered very little in terms of threat to the City defence, the likes of Michail Antonio, Marko Arnautovic, Felipe Anderson and Grady Diangana struggling to impose themselves against the reigning champions.
In fact, the supporters were so unhappy with what they saw from the former of the quartet that they took to Twitter to voice their anger – as gathered by This is Futbol.
It was not the first time that the 28-year-old has been hammered by the east London faithful, with more angry responses coming after the 1-1 draw against Huddersfield prior to the international break.
With 15 appearances across all competitions it is clear Antonio is well trusted by Manuel Pellegrini but supporters will be asking themselves why that is the case.
However, those who stayed to watch the second half of the clash against City will have seen exactly what Pellegrini sees in his star forward, the Englishman putting in a performance full of energy and power, using his pace to finally threaten the City back line.
It is these sort of performances which have been missing and with Arnautovic having hobbled off late on in Saturday’s clash, there is a need for a new senior ace to step up at the top.
Antonio has finally proved that despite the constant criticism fired his way that he has what it takes to fill that void and be the club’s surprise hero this season – it is time for Pellegrini to give him the chance by himself.