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Football London
Football London
Sport
Aidan McCartney

Former West Ham star Marko Arnautovic hits back at critics following China switch

Former West Ham striker Marko Arnautovic has criticised the European media for their treatment of him during his time in the Premier League.

Arnautovic left the Hammers earlier this week to join Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG for a reported fee of £22.5million.

The 30-year-old was linked with a move to China during the winter transfer window, with the Austrian the subject of a £35m, but instead he ended up staying in east London and signing a contract extension with the Hammers.

However, he came in for criticism from some fans, with Arnautovic struggling to find the same form that he had shown in the first half of the season.

He did still finish the season as the Hammers' top goalscorer with 11 goals, but the transfer saga continued in the summer, with West Ham eventually agreeing to sell the forward earlier this week.

But now, Arnautovic has hit out at the criticism over his attitude during his unveiling in China as he insisted that he always gave everything to the cause.

"They do not train with me, they do not play with me, but they just write something," he said.

"Maybe that's the characteristic of European media, the truth is that I always give everything to my team, I never spare myself.

"I'm here to work hard, I want to do my part so the club can achieve all of its goals."

After completing the move to China and arriving in Asia earlier this week, Arnautovic is in line to make debut for Shanghai SIPG on Saturday against Jiangsu Suning.

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