Marko Arnautovic felt he and his West Ham United teammates were ‘unlucky’ not to leave AFC Bournemouth with a win after a thrilling 3-3 Premier League draw with the Cherries.
Arnautovic turned the game on its head and in West Ham’s favour in the final ten minutes of the match, scoring twice to put the Hammers 3-2 up, having been 2-1 behind.
The 28-year-old now has five goals in his last five games but it was not enough to earn the Irons the victory after Callum Wilson scored an injury-time leveller for Bournemouth, which was awarded after a lengthy discussion between referee Bobby Madley and his assistant.
Arnautovic admitted the contest was a tricky one but feels West Ham were unfortunate to not depart the south coast with all three points.
“I think we were unlucky to only take one point, particularly with how the game ended,” Arnautovic said. “It was a hard game, a difficult game, and it was tricky for both sides. We tried to defend good but in the second half Bournemouth attacked more. Then I think we turned the game around into a winning position.
“After that, everybody knows what happened. I don’t know if I can be happy with this one point because, for me, the three points were taken away from us.”
I think we were unlucky to only take on point, particularly with how the game ended
Marko Arnautovic
The contest proved to be a Boxing Day cracker, with both sides taking the lead and six goals being shared. Arnautovic was happy to be involved in such an entertaining game, but confessed he would rather have left the south coast with the victory.
“It was zero points, then three points, then one point. It was a crazy game for people to come and watch. We entertained everybody this Boxing Day and I hope people enjoyed the match, but I would have enjoyed it more if we had won.”
Attention now turns to the home contest with West Bromwich Albioin on Tuesday 2 January, and Arnautovic has called on the team to continue fighting and improving as the Club looks to pull further away from the relegation zone.
The Hammers have 18 points and currently occupy 17th in the league table, and Arnautovic is targeting a New Year win to move his team up the table.
“We have to believe, of course. We’re not in a brilliant position but we have to keep fighting and I’m sure we can turn things around. Our next game is at home, where we will try to take a win.”