On Saturday, Arsenal’s 1-0 win over West Ham was anything but a convincing win. On any other day, the Hammers would have been able to take at least a couple of their many chances, and Michail Antonio would have been one of those celebrating a goal and a good result for his part in it.
However, as the experienced West Ham man was used upfront alongside Sebastien Haller he spurned a great number of chances, meaning that he remains on just two goals for the season (Transfermarkt), a figure that he himself will not be happy with, let alone the fans.
With that being said, though, Antonio cannot be blamed for any of this. It cannot be forgotten that the ex-Nottingham Forest man is a top talent and one that excels when he’s played out on the right-wing, which is unquestionably his best position, although he’s very rarely used there.
During his career as a Hammer, Antonio has played 42 games on the right of midfield, and 22 higher up on the right-hand side as part of the forward line, yet he’s also spent 72 games playing out of position for the club (Transfermarkt), and it reeks of mismanagement and misspending from GSB.
Sebastien Haller simply needs a partner upfront, and the best footballer that the Irons have played this season has come when Haller has had someone to play off of. Albian Ajeti is one of the candidates to play the role, yet he’s clearly not good enough given he’s only managed 396 minutes (Transfermarkt) since his £8m move from Basel (BBC), leaving Antonio out of position yet again.
Does Michail Antonio score enough goals?
Yes
No
Antonio obviously has his struggles. The versatile West Ham man has an xG of 5.33 this season (Understat), so his finishing hasn’t been up to scratch, but the fact that he’s in the position he’s in now, especially when this time last year the Irons had the likes of Javier Hernandez and Lucas Perez who would have been more than able to partner Haller, is a huge mistake from the West Ham hierarchy.
