Since arriving West Ham over the summer for a £20million club record fee, Marko Arnautovic has yet to hit the ground running.
The Austria international is without a Premier League goal or assist for the Hammers, and has recently lost his starting spot following series of woeful performances.
However, it can’t be denied that Arnautovic is a talented player – one capable of leaving defenders for dead on his day, laying down a fine goalscoring chance cum assist and finishing exquisitely when presented the opportunity.
It’s a sentiment shared by a former teammate of his at Stoke City Jon Walters.
Now at Burnley, the veteran midfielder believes Arnautovic has everything needed to reach a top level, but questions his consistency and character.
Walters recently said of the 28-year-old: “Marko could turn it on in the last couple of years – and when he was on it, he was on it.
“But how many times could he do it over the course of the season and could he do the other side? That was an issue with him and whether he could do it consistently.
“For me it was probably a good deal for Stoke but then again it’s a step up for Marko; he’s probably doubled his wages.
“He has to step up and has he done it? You’d say he hasn’t. When he’s on it, he’s on it but that seems like the type of player they’ve got at the club and when things aren’t going their way they won’t be digging in, I wouldn’t say.”
Having managed just 2 league victories thus far, West Ham have dropped to the relegation places, and such a time as this presents the perfect chance for Arnautovic to demonstrate why manager Slaven Bilic pulled out all the stops to land him.
