West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic appears to have overlooked Marko Arnautovic with his latest comments.
Arnautovic was brought to West Ham from Stoke City during the summer transfer window, and he was expected to add creativity and drive to Bilic’s side’s front line.
The Austrian international was one of Stoke’s leading play makers during his time on the Potteries.
However, it seems that Arnautovic has some work to do before he takes on a role of such importance at West Ham.
The Hammers have been without Manuel Lanzini for much of the season so far, due to injury, but the Argentine returned last weekend.
And Bilic currently sees Lanzini as the only player in a West Ham shirt who is a particularly big creative influence.
“We’ve been missing Manu so far this season and he’s probably the only player we have to create [chances], and at least to keep the ball a little bit more,” Bilic said.
“[He is] a player to play in the hole, between the lines, and that was a big difference when Manu came on.”
Bilic has already been critical of Arnautovic’s consistency, since the attacking midfielder arrived at West Ham, and it seems that the 28-year-old still has some work to do to fully win over his new manager.
On his day, Arnautovic can be a massively creative influence – and he has proven to be a threat at Premier League level over a number of years.
Arnautovic missed West Ham’s last match against Swansea City with illness.
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