Marko Arnautović began his career with his brother Danijel at Floridsdorfer AC. In 1998 he joined FK Austria Wien but behaviour issues saw him change club regularly as in the next six years he moved around restlessly before joining in 2006.
Arnautović scored 22 goals in 24 games for the Under-19 FC Twente in the 2007–08 season, helping them win the youth championship. In 2007/8 season he made 16 appearances as Twente finished in fourth position and qualified for the Champions League. In following season he scored 14 goals in 41 matches as Twente finished 2nd in the League and reached the knock phase of the UEFA Cup. In Match 2009 after a league match against Willem II, one of Twente opponents, Ibrahim Kargbo, accused Arnautović of racially abusing him. After an investigation by the Dutch Football Association they found no evidence against him and the case was dismissed. On 4 August 2009, it was said that Arnautović was on the verge of a move to Italian giants Inter. The deal had been largely held up due to a stress fracture in Arnautovic’s right foot, leading to a re-negotiation of the deal between the clubs. On 6 August, it was announced by Twente that the details for the loan had been finalised, Arnautović would join Inter on loan for the season. The deal was said to become permanent if he was to play a set number of matches. If the deal did not become permanent the player would return to Twente on a pre-agreed contract of two years, with an option to extend the contract for a third year.
He made his unofficial debut for Inter Milan in a friendly game on 5 September 2009 against Swiss team, Lugano, the final score was 3–3. He made his league debut in a 1–0 away victory against Chievo on 6 January 2010. He played in their next match against Siena coming on as a substitute at half time and helped Inter to win the match 4–3. He played one more match for Inter against Atalanta on 24 April 2010. At the end of the season Inter decided against turning his loan in a permanent move and Jose Mourinho stated that Arnautovic “is a fantastic person but has the attitude of a child”.
That’s quite something after the recent problem Jose caused with Chelsea Team Doctor costing the club (along with new club Manchester United) £5million.
On 4 June 2010, German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen confirmed that they had signed Arnautović from Twente on a four-year deal.
Before he had played a match for Bremen he irked their captain Torsten Frings who branded him as “arrogant”. He made his Bundesliga debut on 21 August 2010 in a 4–1 defeat against Hoffenheim. Arnautović scored twice against 1.FC Koln on 28 August 2010, his first goals for Bremen.
He ended the 2010/11 season at the Weserstadion with five goals in 34 appearances as Bremen finished in 13th position and he also played in the Champions League. In 2011/12 he scored six goals in 20 appearances as Bremen finished in ninth position. In March 2012, he was ruled out for two months with a knee ligament injury he suffered whilst playing with his dog.
In 2012/13, Arnautović played in 27 matches and scored five goals which included a hat-trick on 2 December 2012 away at Hoffenheim, including an impressive free kick, as Bremen won 4–1.
Stoke City
On 2 September 2013, Arnautović joined Premier League side Stoke City on a four-year contract for a fee of £2 million. He was assigned the number 10 shirt by manager Mark Hughes who also described his signing as a coup “People will very quickly see what an outstanding talent he is. In terms of his power and his pace, which is something I think we need in the squad, he ticks all the boxes. Technically he’s excellent and I’m really looking forward to working with him. I think it’s quite a coup to get him here. It made sense to us and made sense to him that this is the right club for him. He’s got a real desire to make an impression.” Arnautović made his Stoke debut twelve days later in a 0–0 draw against Manchester City at the Britannia Stadium. After spending a month at the club, manager Hughes stated that Arnautović had adapted well to English football after being give a free-role in the side.
On 26 October, he scored his first goal for Stoke, a 25-yard free-kick in a 3–2 defeat against Manchester United. Arnautović ended his first season in England with five goals in 35 appearances, and the team finished in ninth position in the Premier League.
Here’s Marko scoring a second goal against Manchester City and England’s present goalkeeper Joe Hart
If Marko can reproduce only glimmers of his season just gone then Austria can become the Leicester City of the Euros at 40/1. His nation had an impressive run-in to the competition and if Marko is fit and well, who knows? Sparks can fly if he’s on his game, and he can be more dangerous than any of his English counterparts.
I know that supporters at my old club are speaking in terms of him being one of their all-time greatest talents, and although he looked a “luxury” in the early days, the penny might just have dropped?
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