West Ham forward Michail Antonio put in yet another ineffective performance against Arsenal on Wednesday evening.
The 31-year-old has been struggling for form recently, and supporters on Twitter are not happy with the Jamaican international’s contributions:
You can see he’s got no energy whatsoever left in the tank cos of him playing so much he needs to be rested
— harry hodgson (@THE_HODG) December 15, 2021
Spot on. Don’t even pick him for the squad. He needs a reality check.
— Jp (@Onlywestham) December 15, 2021
I’d rather see Dawson up top, or Perkins. Like playing 10 against 12 right now
— Leigh (@leeroy_acko1) December 15, 2021
he play like he is afraid to play in the box :/ don’t know why he run on the wing and try to put the ball in the box :/
— ⚒️antho krays⚒️ (@krays2208) December 15, 2021
Hes clearly got a knock or is knackered. A couple of weeks off will do no harm.
— Harrison Tuckwell (@HarrisonTuckwe1) December 15, 2021
Need a ST in Jan either play the 2 up top or rotate between the 2 have nothing to bring off the bench
— Tom Rowe (@Tom_Rowe20) December 15, 2021
I have a feeling he is being managed because of his hamstrings. Last season he gave 100% every game he played but suffered injuries because of it. I’m certain he has been holding back in games and it just doesn’t work for him. He is an all or nothing player.
— Tony Cole (@tonycole70) December 15, 2021
He cares but he looks tired. And he has never been a natural striker with the instincts of a true goal scorer. Get a striker in and let him rotate some. Great on counters when fit.
— Velvet Rebel Music (@VelvetRebel1984) December 16, 2021
Antonio form has been awful and only reason he’s playing is cuz we don’t have another striker. Every other position on team players have the threat of being dropped by poor play. Window we need a proper striker.
— Rick ⚡️ (@ShmoopToThrill) December 16, 2021
As some fans have pointed out, Antonio is simply being played too much. He’s running on empty at the moment but, with no recognised backup, manager David Moyes has had no choice but to continue playing him.
The striker had a lightning-quick start to the season, with four goals and three assists in his first three league games, but he is now on a run of eight matches without scoring.
Luckily, the January transfer window is only a couple of weeks away, and it will be hoped that the Hammers have already identified a signing to take some of the weight off Antonio. If they don’t bring someone in, though, it could well unravel their promising first half of the campaign.
