An astonishing new Michail Antonio revelation will shock West Ham fans but it might change a few minds as well.
It is without question that Michail Antonio has been a fantastic servant for West Ham since signing for just £7.5m from Notts Forest back in 2015.
A scorer of some historic and important goals, Antonio has also cemented his place as West Ham’s record Premier League goalscorer.
That record is of course set to tumble to Jarrod Bowen over the next few seasons with all being well. But it is nonetheless significant.
Unfortunately old father time catches up with the best of us. And Antonio is not immune. The West Ham striker is fortunate to have been first choice for a massive club at the top level for so long.
Astonishing Antonio revelation will shock West Ham fans
But the Hammers star turns 34 in March and has struggled this season before a knee injury on international duty which has seen him sidelined for the last few weeks.
It has always been the subject of much debate whether Antonio ever truly has had the skill set to be a bona fide Premier League striker.
The Hammers number nine can often frustrate with his performances.
And many Hammers supporters feel the Jamaican has had his day at the top level and that the club need to sign a new striker in the January transfer window.
So an astonishing Antonio revelation will shock West Ham fans but might change a few minds.
Because it has been revealed that Antonio has the best dribble success rate in the entire Premier League so far this season.
Stat might change a few minds
Don’t scratch your eyes West Ham fans. Because football statisticians The Other 14 have produced a table revealing the remarkable fact.
The West Ham forward has attempted 26 dribbles in the Premier League so far this term and 17 of them were successful.
That gives Antonio a dribble success rate of 65.4% – edging him ahead of Hammers teammate Lucas Paqueta (34/22 – 64.7%).
If he can still beat players at the top level to this degree then maybe Antonio does have a part to play
Man City star and former West Ham target Jeremy Doku has, somewhat unsurprisingly, attempted the most dribbles with 79 but has nothing like Antonio’s success rate (55.7%).
Maybe, just maybe, this stat will change a few minds as to whether Antonio really is “finished” at West Ham and the top level.
After all if he is still getting past players so successfully then he clearly has something to offer whether that be off the bench or perhaps in a wide role when not being used up top.
It will certainly be interesting to see where Antonio fits in when he does return from injury.
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