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ARNIE HAMMERED

West Ham star Marko Arnautovic dives into crowd after celebrating first Hammers goal

Club record signing finally broke his duck after difficult start to life in east London

MARKO ARNAUTOVIC finally broke his duck for West Ham - sparking a jubilant celebration with Hammers fans.

The Austrian international has been under-fire this season after a slow start to life in east London but went some way to paying back his club record fee with a goal against rivals Chelsea.

 Jubilant Marko Arnautovic dived into the crowd after scoring his first goal for West Ham
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Jubilant Marko Arnautovic dived into the crowd after scoring his first goal for West HamCredit: refer to caption.

The former Stoke ace was brought in this summer for a club record £20million and was expected to fire Slaven Bilic's side into European contention.

It hasn't quite worked out like that, with a red card in his second game for the club part of a dreadful Hammers start that eventually saw Bilic sacked.

Heading into today's derby against rivals Chelsea, Arnautovic had gone 11 Premier League matches without a goal for his new club.

But he needed just 10 minutes to end that spell, against a Chelsea side that has now kept just one clean sheet in the last five matches.

 Arnautovic scored his first West Ham goal with a lovely curling strike
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Arnautovic scored his first West Ham goal with a lovely curling strikeCredit: AFP or licensors
 The club record signing went bonkers after scoring, diving in to celebrate with fans
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The club record signing went bonkers after scoring, diving in to celebrate with fansCredit: Reuters

After a slick one-two with Manuel Lanzini, Arnautovic cut onto his left and curled an excellent strike past Thibaut Courtois into the far corner.

It sparked bedlam around the London Stadium and a jubilant reaction from the 28-year-old.

He sprinted at the fans, diving into the crowd to celebrate with supporters.

Referee Anthony Taylor was not so impressed, however, and showed Arnautovic a yellow for storming towards West Ham fans.

 Referee Anthony Taylor shows Arnautovic the yellow card
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Referee Anthony Taylor shows Arnautovic the yellow cardCredit: Sky Sports

Irons supporters, who had made the forward a constant target for moans this season,  were clearly impressed with his performance against the Blues.

After the goal, Arnautovic was a constant menace for the Chelsea back three, carving out two decent half-chances for himself before half-time.

The Austrian was given a raucous standing ovation as he was subbed off with 20 minutes left, with West Ham holding on to pick up a brilliant three points over their rivals.

Sunday Premier League preview including Liverpool v Everton and Manchester United v Manchester City

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