After massive game Marko Arnautovic is staying at West Ham?

Two goals and three points, all on the back of a marquee performance from Marko Arnautovic. The enigmatic Austrian finally put in a performance that we’ve seen far too infrequently this season and now it may have an impact on his future.

Against Spurs, Marko Arnautovic made the incisive cross to Michail Antonio which led to the first ever goal against and subsequent loss for Tottenham at their new stadium. His post-match celebrations saw him clapping the fans with Mark Noble and slapping his heart. It appeared that the first steps to repairing the relationship he shattered in January.

A double for this man! 😍 pic.twitter.com/kQ2gRj1Sip
— West Ham United (@WestHam) May 4, 2019

I was amongst the many who pegged him for a breakout performance against Southampton, and boy, were we right. He looked back to his old form, tenacious as always and threatening when it came to the opponent’s area.

The first goal saw him operate the channels perfectly on a lovely ball from Noble. After one touch, Arnautovic slotted the ball under the keeper to give the Hammers a well-earned lead. His second goal came in the second half. After a brutal rebound that hit Arnie, he won the second ball and headed it home to put the game out of reach.

The rest of the match saw a Fredericks goal and a funneling of chances to Arnautovic to get him his hattrick. It never came, but man of the match honors was handed out to him, appropriately so.

Despite the excitement on the pitch, the post-match press conference shed some light on Pellegrini’s plans for next season – including Marko Arnautovic.

More from Green Street Hammers - West Ham

Pellegrini opened up about his man of the match saying, “Marko has had a special season but he finished very well today…Next season, I am sure we are going to see the Marko Arnautovic who knows how much he can give to this club.”

He followed that up by saying “We hope we can have a complete season from Marko Arnautovic in the way he played today.” It’s pretty black and white, Pellegrini wants his striker to be Arnautovic next season.

Something to remember in all of this is that Arnautovic holds all the cards in this situation. If interest can still be generated from a Chinese club that will pay him double his current wages the links and rumors will still be out there.

His recent actions suggest he doesn’t want to go, but honestly who knows at this point. The fallout of his move will also affect the summer plans. If he doesn’t go that could end the links to Maxi Gomez and Aleksandar Mitrovic, and not getting his £30+ million fee could halt other moves, too.

Regardless, Arnautovic needs to finish the season on a high against Watford to either accelerate his move away or continue to mend the relationship he slashed with the fans. It should be an exciting end to things at Watford.