Michail Antonio: Not a big game player?

Liverpool’s drubbing of West Ham to start the Premier League season has been eye-opening on many levels. A player who has received a high level of criticism for his performance has been Michail Antonio for disappearing during the match. So, is Antonio not a big game player?

The criticism of Antonio is warranted, but it was just one game for West Ham. With Bournemouth on the horizon, we should be able to see a different Michail Antonio if Pellegrini does select him. Why? Because the non-elite, non-top-6 teams don’t boast the skillful fullbacks that can stymy Antonio’s speedy game.

Antonio works off of a pretty simple formula, flick the ball on, battle shoulder to shoulder with the defender, and beat them with his strong pace. Physicality and speed. It’s tried and true and works in the Premier League, but Antonio is let down by his technical abilities. Even on his goal against Aston Villa on preseason where he beat four defenders to slot home a terrific goal, he did so with great speed, tenacious physicality, and below-par dribbling:

With Pellegrini tipping his hand to a changed mentality for team selection in match week two, Antonio could be one of a few men switched out of the team. He did mention he would judge the team, not individuals on the performance but also added: “We are going to see and going to work on what we need to improve during the week, of course”. Could this mean a change of formation and team selection?

Both of the right-sided players that relieved Antonio, Robert Snodgrass and Andriy Yarmolenko, looked more lively and had a greater impact on the game than Antonio. Snodgrass was played in a more central position but pursued the ball relentlessly, while Yarmolenko stayed further committed up top and held up the ball in Liverpool’s end well.

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Both Yarmolenko and Snodgrass should have a beat on Antonio as starters for West Ham’s next match. But, Bournemouth is an important match for Antonio because if he is included in the game as a starter or a sub there should be a fire lit beneath him to impress his manager. He looked great in preseason against Championship sides and can hopefully translate that to success against midtable teams.

Last year, a season marred by injury for the pacey winger, Antonio played in 21 Premier League games but scored just three goals – Burnley, Liverpool, and Swansea. When he did score against Liverpool it was as a sub and he was played as a center forward/ secondary striker. Despite his ability expose fullbacks up the wings Antonio has had reasonable success down the middle of the pitch by using his speed for make runs and physicality to win aerial duels. This may be a more fitting application for him against the Premier Leagues elite teams.

The look ahead:

Pellegrini’s decision on formation should dictate Antonio’s usage. It is clear that he deserves to be dropped after looking winded and disinterested after an hour of play against Liverpool. Assuming Pellegrini want’s to attack Bournemouth at the London Stadium there could be a return to his favorite formation: 4-2-2-2. In this system, Antonio coming off the bench as a striker could keep the opposition on their heels and could also reveal a new application for the player.

The determination should be able to be made within West Ham’s first nine fixtures on whether Antonio is a “big game player”. The likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Tottenham appear in this stretch of games. As well, newly renovated Everton, and Brighton, who destroyed the Hammers twice last season, host the hammers while newly promoted Wolves visit East London.

It is a hard stretch of games and Antonio will feature in them against both the top-6 opponents and mid to lower table teams. His basic style of play up the wings may not be effective against the elite but him providing speed up the middle off the bench could see him factor into those games a bit differently.

While still extremely early in the season it is clear that Pellegrini will have to be creative should he want to use his speedy forward against the Premier Leagues best for West Ham. Until he has him figured out let him roll against the Bournemouth’s of the league and continue to explode up the wing, just don’t rely on him to be a big game player against the elite teams.