Marko Arnautovic is a fan-favourite mostly because he’s been West Ham’s best player in a season where there have been precious few positives to hold onto.

David Moyes managed to ‘get a tune’ out of the Austrian in a way that Mark Hughes failed to do, and indeed Slaven Bilic at the start of the campaign. But although his revival should be celebrated, we shouldn’t totally forget the first few months of the year when Arnautovic had first joined the club.

Like many temperamental talents, Arnautovic can be both a talisman and a liability. His petulance is the flipside of his inspiration, ‘the mad side of genius’ is how Jonathan Pearce described it when commentating on Eric Cantona’s infamous ‘kung-fu kick’ against Crystal Palace in 1995.

For Arnautovic, his highs are not as high so his lows are not quite so low. The worst this season was a thuggish elbow on a Southampton player in one of the season’s opening games.

The problem wasn’t so much the force behind the misdemeanour, though, but the stupidity of the act. With his team 2-0 down, just a week after being thumped 4-0 at Old Trafford in the opening game of the season, the very worst way to compound the misery would be to get yourself sent off.

Worse still is doing it with only 33 minutes on the clock - they say a two goal lead is the most dangerous (though that’s clearly rubbish), and there was always a chance the Hammers could get back into the game.

Indeed, they did. Two goals from Javier Hernandez saw them level it up before a last minute penalty from Charlie Austin gave the points to Southampton. But you have to wonder just what would have happened had the Austrian stayed on the pitch. And what effect it might have had on the rest of the season.

The point here is not to castigate Arnautovic but rather to ask whether or not Manuel Pellegrini - a manager whose personality exudes calmness and moderation - would be disgusted at seeing one of his recognised star players sold off to Manchester United before the Chilean has even had the pleasure of managing a game.

Sure, Arnautovic would be a forceful and potent weapon under a manager with a penchant for attacking - almost perfect for ‘the Engineer’ in some exciting ways. But losing him may not be the end of the world - so long as he was adequately replaced.

So should West Ham sell? Well, therein, most probably, lies the problem.

West Ham fans would not (very justifiably) be delighted at seeing one of their best players sold but the main issue would surely stem from the fact that recruitment in recent years has been absolutely terrible - there is no reason to trust the board to bring in a proper replacement.

But think of the players Manuel Pellegrini relied on at Manchester City: Jesus Navas, Gael Clichy, Eliaquim Mangala. They are certainly not considered top players - indeed, some are probably punchlines in English football - but they are also ‘nice boys’ who don’t do petulance, they are players who follow the manager’s orders and buy into how he wants to play.

You wonder if Arnautovic’s mentality wouldn’t be a recipe for disaster with a manager like that.

For what it’s worth, if I were Pellegrini, I wouldn’t sell. But only because of the Hammers’ history with new signings.

But then why would you take the job if you didn’t trust the board? And that’s why - if there’s any truth to the rumour - we might well see Pellegrini sanction a sale on the basis that there’s money available for a more down-to-Earth replacement.

[ad_pod ]