Arnautovic vows to silence ‘haters’ and prove his worth to West Ham

Marko Arnautovic is determined to prove his “haters” wrong and stay out of trouble after showing why West Ham United made him their £27million record signing.

Following a slow start to his West Ham career, which included a red card in his second appearance, the Austrian has come to life under manager David Moyes.

After scoring five goals in six games before West Bromwich Albion’s visit to the London Stadium on Tuesday, Arnautovic set up Andy Carroll’s late winner that lifted West Ham out of the relegation zone ahead of tonight’s trip to Wembley to play Tottenham. “I am 28 and still not where I want to be,” said Arnautovic. “I want to show people – especially the haters – what I am capable of and bring this club up with everything I have.”

Arnautovic believes he was unfairly singled out for criticism at the start of the season, in large part due to the fee paid to Stoke City for him.

“I had a slow start, that’s right,” said Arnautovic. “I came here and expectations were high. But as footballers we have to deal with the pressure. I was not happy with myself.

“I hear people saying ‘he came for £27 million and he’s done nothing for us’. Of course, if you score or assist and win the game, you are the best player in the world, but if you lose, you are the worst. People who say I am up and down don’t know football. People expect me to score and assist every time I play. But, sometimes, I score and I go home and think I didn’t play very well. But, because I scored, they say ‘wow he was amazing’. But I wasn’t.”

West Ham came from 2-0 down to beat Tottenham 3-2 in the Carabao Cup in October, but Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino does not see tonight’s game as being about revenge.

“It was 2-0 at half-time and we believed the game was over,” he said. “It was 3-2 in the end and it was a massive mistake. But this game is not about revenge.

“Now it is the Premier League and we need to win because we have to fight for the top four.”