Michail Antonio devastated after what happened at West Ham United
Michail Antonio has hit out at West Ham teammate Said Benrahma after the two were involved in a missed opportunity to score against Brentford, claiming he didn’t hear a shout to leave it.
The incident against Brentford saw a ball squared across the six-yard box where Benrahma was waiting to tap into an empty net before Antonio threw himself in front and put the ball wide.
Antonio also claimed he cannot understand the reasons behind his poor run in front of goal, claiming there must be some type of “voodoo” stopping him from finding the net in recent games.
Speaking on the Footballer’s Football Podcast [9 November, 3:00], Antonio said: “I would give my whole year’s wage to score a goal right now. I don’t know what it is but there’s some type of voodoo or something blocking me in front of goal because it’s just not happening.
“When I look back at it, I possibly should have left it for him [Benrahma] because obviously I’m stretching and he’s just there, on his right foot. But the man’s got to shout. Man’s gotta shout.
“There was no call, he was just there and obviously we’ve just clashed into each other as I’m trying to score, so he’s got to shout and let me know that he’s there in a better position.
“To be honest, I don’t know if I would leave it anyway. Even if he was screaming in my ear, I don’t know if I would’ve left it. I’m a number nine, I ain’t scored in three months, open goal, I don’t know.
“I’m devastated. I didn’t sleep a wink that night, it gave me nightmares I’m not gonna lie. The worst thing about it is I have been praying to God to get an opportunity, then it came and it just didn’t come off.”
Take some responsibility
Antonio will seemingly blame anything but himself for his three-month goal drought, but he is the one missing the opportunities and failing to find the back of the net. That’s not the fault of Benrahma or some divine intervention, he has simply not been good enough.
Particularly when you consider he starts every single week for David Moyes’ side, and the strong start to the season he had, scoring against both Chelsea and Brighton in two big wins for the Hammers.
It’s all well and good saying you have to be doing better, but to attempt to shift the blame for a miss that ultimately cost his team all three points in West London, when it was clear to everybody watching he was at fault, is a bad look for Antonio.
He needs to knuckle down, work hard on the training pitch, and perhaps stop complaining on a podcast every time he misses an opportunity – much like what Gabby Agbonlahor has slammed him for in recent weeks live on talkSPORT.
In other West Ham news, a pundit has predicted the outcome of the Olympiacos clash.