Michail Antonio now walking a tightrope at West Ham United, dreadful form could result in David Moyes sack decision
West Ham United suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Aston Villa on Sunday and it was another dreadful performance from Michail Antonio whose form could have rippling effects on David Moyes.
Unai Emery’s men ran out easy 4-1 winners in the clash at Villa Park, leaving them fifth in the table. The Hammers meanwhile dropped in the table following the hugely damaging loss, which will prove difficult to bounce back from.
Two goals from Douglas Luiz, Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey strikes compounded the Hammers to their third defeat of the campaign, leaving them languishing in ninth place in the Premier League table five points off their opponents.
Jarrod Bowen, the only shining light in an otherwise dreadful performance from West Ham, grabbed his sixth goal of the season so far and Moyes will certainly be worried about the form of his other key attackers, not least Michail Antonio.
Clinical finishing has certainly become West Ham’s downfall for a long while now, especially against the big teams and after Moyes’ failure to acquire a striker over the summer window after sanctioning Gianluca Scamacca’s exit, it’s an issue that could well become a stick to beat the former Manchester United manager with.
While Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins has given his team a whole new dimension with his completely transformed attacking influence, Michail Antonio has undergone a rapid and worrying decline.
Certainly, Watkins showed the Hammers what they’re missing up front – a clinical and lethal finisher.
The Jamaican international’s impressive start to the season has taken a dramatic nosedive with yet another blank now his sixth Premier League game without scoring and it’s now just two goals in his last ten in all competitions [SofaScore].
His last goal for the Hammers came in their impressive 3-1 against Brighton on 26 August, since then, the senior Hammers striker hasn’t looked close to breaking that duck and his worrying performances continued against the Villans.
As per SofaScore, throughout his 89 minutes on the pitch, Antonio barely touched the ball with just 28 touches, completed just over 50% of his passes, registered just one shot on target, won four of his 12 total duels, lost possession of the ball 14 times and committed three fouls.
Certainly, Antonio’s all-round game has taken a steep decline in recent weeks but what he’s in the team for – his goal-scoring – has been completely nonexistent.
Goals win games and while Bowen has proven a shining light in that regard, relying on the Englishman’s goals really isn’t sustainable. And if the Hammers aren’t winning games, Moyes’ job will certainly be on the line.
West Ham United hold remarkable ambitions this campaign after their Europa Conference League triumph but after Sunday’s evidence, those plans seem impossible the way Moyes’ key performers are performing right now.
Antonio has proven a reliable and influential player for West Ham United in recent seasons, becoming the answer to their dreadful striker record in the transfer window but his performances of late leave him walking a tightrope at the London Stadium amongst the club fans.
In other West Ham news, a Lucas Paqueta recall update has emerged amid the allegations aimed at him.