West Ham record signing Marko Arnautovic has hit out at criticism he has faced since joining the club.

The Austrian joined for a club-record fee of £25m from Stoke, but has endured a relatively dismal campaign so far and has received all manner of criticism from fans and pundits.

It has been reported that new boss David Moyes has been given the go-ahead to sell the winger in January, but Arnautovic has dismissed those rumours, saying: “I will not be sold.”

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was paticularly critical of the 28-year-old after the Hammers lost 3-0 to newly promoted Brighton, saying: “He thinks he’s Cristiano Ronaldo, that’s his problem, he thinks he’s better than he is.”

Fellow Sky pundit Jamie Carragher agreed, adding: “He’s walking around during the game. It was unbelievable, pathetic.”

However, Arnautovic hit back, calling out Neville especially.

“I respect what Gary Neville achieved as a player. He was brilliant at Manchester United and hats off to him.

“But what did he do as a coach at Valencia? His job is to criticise, that is 90 per cent of his job.

“I am not saying Gary Neville is a nobody. He has accomplished a lot in his life, he is a legend.

“But as a coach? Let him stay on the TV.”

Arnautovic also slammed the opinions of the public on social media, saying that most of them ‘have no life’.

“Most of them (online critics) have no work, probably no life and no idea,” he added.

“I respect the real fans and I understand them. They were all happy to have me come to West Ham because I had done very well at Stoke.

“But the fans only see what happens in the stadium, they do not see what you do at training and in private.

“I know how strong I am mentally, how I work on myself. I have lost nothing and I’m not in crisis. West Ham can count on me 100 per cent.”
[Quotes via The Sun]