Hughes: West Ham wasn’t a step up for Arnautovic
Stoke manager Mark Hughes believes Marko Arnautovic made a mistake with his ‘sideways’ move to West Ham.
Hughes believes the Austria winger should have set his sights on a bigger club and bided his time by staying in the Potteries with a manager who had learned to handle his unpredictable temperament.
Arnautovic is back at Stoke with the Hammers today for the first time since he put in a transfer request before the £ 24million summer switch.
‘People have looked at Marko for many seasons,’ said Hughes. ‘everybody has seen him and come up against him, and I think he hoped he’d be going to the next level but that wasn’t the case.
‘that’s why we argued, “Why are you going sideways when we would encourage you to go higher if that’s what you want to do?” ’
Arnautovic made a difficult start at his new club when he was sent off for an elbow in his second game and was criticised for his early performances.
But he scored the winning goal against Chelsea last Saturday and Hughes believes his form has improved under new Hammers boss David Moyes.
‘I thought moving was the wrong decision for him because I know what he needs to be successful,’ added Hughes. ‘He’s got a big presence, a big personality and he demands attention. He’ll back his ability. He likes the attention and to feel people are with him. that’s why he prospered here.
‘ He’s got a little bit of form because it looks as if he’s been given a bit of trust and he sees it as a fresh start to his West Ham career.’