Marko Arnautovic is developing into West Ham’s own version of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, according to his manager David Moyes.
Arnautovic has long been compared to the Swedish striker, announcing on his arrival at Inter Milan as a 19-year-old that he had been compared to his idol Ibrahimovic “an infinite amount of times”.
For much of his career the 28-year-old Austrian international has struggled to fulfil the hype, showing unquestionable talent at Werder Bremen and Stoke City but rarely for long enough.
His recent run at West Ham may be the best of his career, nine goals and four assists coming in his last 14 games, and it has led to his team-mates looking to Arnautovic to take on a more significant role in the side.
“He is a little bit of a Zlatan inasmuch as the players look to him,” Moyes said. “He’s got a leadership role which he needs to develop as well, for the club and for the team.
“He’s getting to an age now where he’s going to influence players, and he’s going to have to influence players around him, so he needs to be doing it by his leadership and performance. His performances have done it in many ways.”
Arnautovic’s form is a far cry from how the £25million record signing had begun his career in West Ham.
When Slaven Bilic was sacked on November 6 Arnautovic had yet to score a goal in the Premier League, his most notable contribution having been a straight red card in a 3-2 defeat at Southampton.
Moyes admits he was not sure he would be able to get the best out of the Austrian.