West Ham face Arnie decision for Crystal Palace match
West Ham move from their solid draw against Liverpool on Monday to play Crystal Palace at the weekend. The big decision will come up front, will Arnautovic return?
It alsways seems as though there’s something going on at West Ham, even when the football goes well. Despite putting in a very good performance against Liverpool, rather than all attention being on taking that in to the next match, we have a personnel issue. Arnautovic is fit enough to return to the team, but should he be put back in?
This is an issue of Arnautovic’s own creation, because of his January strop. Now whatever decision the manager makes there will be a lot of focus on it, rightly or wrongly. Should we change a side that played well? Or does a player that is clearly our first choice for that position just walk back in?
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One school of thought says that no matter who comes back, a winning side should remain the same. Unless there are injuries/suspensions of course. Chicharito might not have scored against Liverpool but he did do exactly what asked, harass the defence and get shots off where possible. If he were to play against Palace he’d have an easier time of it, and potentially get amongst the goals.
The other school of though, which I have to say I’m a member of, is you play your best team. But that doesn’t mean always just the best players. West Ham have had issues caused by a number of players over the years, and maybe leaving Arnie out is the best thing for the team overall. In this case, I think I’d be tempted to play him, especially as I don’t think the rest of the team will set up the same either.
We will be looking to attack Palace more than we did Liverpool, and Antonio is likely to be out injured. I think we’ll return to a more conventional 4-2-3-1, with someone in behind the striker. This would favour Arnie, although I don’t think Chicharito would be out of place. But who would Palace defenders rather face? I think you and I both know it’d be the Mexican.
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So Pellegrini has to balance footballing prowess with harmony in the dressing room, and the fact Chicharito probably thinks he’s earned a run out against a weaker side. And I trust the Chilean, his ability in the dugout has served us well so far this season.