Marko Arnautovic could be the best player in the world, but he doesn’t want to.
Defiance is part of his life, and therefore of his game. From there is born his difference, his anarchy. He won’t be the best because he doesn’t want to; they all point that way. He goes somewhere else.
Once Pep Guardiola classified the footballers in analytical and anarchic. Clearly we know the Austrian’s group.
It’s not made for big clubs, because reaching them is the popular desire.
His work is in the middle table. He’s a Robin Hood a little more classy.
A single season at Inter was enough to confirm that. Twente, Werder Bremen, Stoke City and now West Ham.
Playing in the Hammers he has found a new role: forward. He stopped being a fast, confrontational and explosive winger to become a ‘9’ with the same characteristics. Just as lethal, but now with more goal.
That said, El Chicharito won’t be in the starting line-up for a long time.
A past as offensive from the left allows him to position himself better in attacks from the sides, as well as giving him a very useful interpretation of the game in offensive contexts.
Of course, only until he wants to. Tomorrow you might want to play as goalkeeper.
Such are the rebels; understanding them is an art. Nothing easy, in fact. But once they manage to be embedded in an ecosystem, they become the most decisive players in football, like Arnautovic.
They make doubles, assist and create dangerous plays, like Arnautovic.
This season is proving that he is much more than a good footballer, he is a different one. And in the middle of a West Ham risky enough to break schemes, this could turn out very well. Or not.
Manuel Pellegrini knows how to deal with these moods; that’s how he empowered the best Balotelli.
And so, probably, the most rebellious and footballing side of Marko Arnautovic, the most lethal player in London, will wake up.