West Ham’s striker still up in the air opening the door to Andy Carroll return

West Ham’s main man Marko Arnautovic limped off before the final whistle with a gruesome-looking hip injury after slamming the ground on a scuffed shot. With his injury status unknown ahead of Newcastle could Andy Carroll’s return to the starting XI come sooner than expected?

It wasn’t his greatest game but it’s hard to slate anyone who didn’t show up against the immense Manchester City team but Marko Arnautovic has looked a bit disheveled lately on the pitch. To combine with this, Arnautovic has hurt his hip on a misplay late in the game. The injury caused him to walk off the pitch a minute before the final whistle and before City added a fourth goal.

Arnautovic has struggled this season with match fitness after a nagging knee injury has forced him to limp by the end of the match or even miss it entirely. The extent of the existing injury is unknown, but weekly injections are required to get him in game shape.

As for his scoring touch, Arnautovic has scored 5 goals in 11 games which is more than solid, however, he failed to score against Brighton and Huddersfield Town where he had plenty of opportunities but lacked his usual clinical finishing. My thought is that he needs some sort of rest ahead of a busy December. He is constantly recalled by Austria who is vying for international qualiifcation through friendlies and Nations League matches and needs their best player, but for his health, he needs to sit.

The solution? Bring in the big man, Andy Carroll. I thought it was extremely wise for Manuel Pellegrini to not bring in Carroll against City as West Ham were down multiple goals early and couldn’t maximize his skills. But with Newcastle next up it could be the perfect opportunity to get Carroll in to bully some centre-backs.

The proposed formation would be extremely attacking, 4-2-2-2, the Pellegrini special:

Fabianski
Zabaleta – Diop – Balbuena – Cresswell
Rice – Noble
Diangana                                 Anderson
Chicharito – Carroll

Andy Carroll wouldn’t be isolated up top with Chicharito beside him, and the reinsertion of Mark Noble in the midfield would remove the uninspiring Pedro Obiang to bring some grit and physicality for what should be a chippy affair.

Carroll is the fulcrum of this entire plan; without the big man there is no 4-2-2-2 and there is no massive change in formation. Pellegrini got the best out of Sergio Aguero playing him with a striker partner who was a big, physical player like Edin Dzeko, and could look to do the same with West Ham’s duo. Carroll is second to none at winning headers against opposition and is underrated at playing with his feet (okay, foot) which would benefit the likes of Chicharito.

The bench picks itself after that formation too. At striker, you can bring on Michail Antonio to relieve Carroll in the second half as a physical striker and Perez for Chicharito as the small goal scorer.

The game plan would change from possession ball and build up play through the middle to wide play with crosses. Felipe Anderson’s crosses and corners will certainly be relied upon but so too will Cresswell’s. Robert Snodgrass, who can whip in a setpiece with the best of them, could also be called on starting in Diangana’s place on the right side of the attack.

Carroll also offers value defensively against a team that uses Salomon Rodon as a target man. Carroll is terrific at corner kick defense and tends to drift back to repel dead-ball fouls as well.

Carroll changes West Ham’s plans but it doesn’t complicate them. A constant aerial assault will wear down any defense, but with West Ham showing they can hold onto the ball and keep possession numbers up (against non-top 6 teams) this could break down Newcastle.