Former Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp has criticised the West Ham squad for their lack of desire, and particularly Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic for what he feels is a lack of effort.
Arnautovic signed for West Ham in 2017, leaving Stoke City in controversial fashion. It took the Austria international a few months to become settled at the London Stadium, and was even sent off in his second game for the club.
It took until December for Arnautovic to score his first goal for the club in a 1-0 win over Chelsea. 'Arnie', as he is affectionately known, went on to score 11 Premier League goals and won the coveted 'Hammer of the Year' award last season.
However, West Ham have made a slow start to the 2018/19 season, losing their first four Premier League matches. Manuel Pellegrini's side sit rock bottom of the league, without a point to their name.
Redknapp, writing for the Daily Mail, has singled out Arnautovic as one reason why the Hammers have made such a poor start to the season.
Redknapp wrote: ''Marko Arnautovic is the star man but sometimes when I watch him I wonder whether he is playing for himself and not the team.''
The former England international added: ''How can Pellegrini motivate him to become the snarling forward who under David Moyes struck fear into defenders?''
Arnautovic has gained himself a reputation of being self-centred, and perhaps even lazy at times. This assessment of Arnautovic, however, is not always fair.
During his time at Stoke, he formed a strong relationship with left back Erik Pieters and the two would regularly overlap. If Stoke lost the ball and Pieters was too far forward, Arnautovic would regularly track back in order to bolster the left side of the defence.
After the international break, West Ham travel to Everton before hosting Maurizio Sarri's Chelsea at the London Stadium.