Marko Arnautovic will be hoping to replicate his scintillating form at club level for the Austrian national team as they head into Euro 2016 following a string of excellent performances in the qualifying campaign.
Austria secured victory in 9 of their ten qualifying fixtures with the only blemish in their run coming against Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden.
Arnautovic enjoyed an excellent qualifying campaign with Austria as he bagged three goals and contributed two assists in 10 appearances. He found the back of the net on 12 occasions for Stoke City in the 2015-16 Premier League season. He ended the campaign as Stoke’s top scorer across all competitions. The Stoke City forward was also voted as the club’s best player by his teammates.
Austria has been dubbed as ‘Dark Horses’ going into this edition of the European Championship due to the quality present within their squad as they boast of the likes of Arnautovic and David Alaba.
Arnautovic is quite versatile up front as he can play on either flank as well as in the middle. Although, he seems to be more useful in a number 9 role. The Austrian Professional is a creative player, somewhat like Sweden’s Ibrahimovic and is capable of scoring spectacular goals from long distances.
Arnautovic possesses sublime technique, pace, and trickery apart from the amazing ability to make decisive late runs deep into the opposition’s half.
Along with being fast and flamboyant, Arnautovic also has an excellent aerial presence with unmatched ability to score from set-pieces as well as on crosses. Apart from being on the receiving end of free-kicks, he is also quite proficient when it comes to dead-ball situations.
Before the competition, Arnautovic has won 50 caps and scored ten goals for his country. He has cemented his place as a pivotal part of the Austrian national team in recent years and makes it into the starting eleven on a consistent basis.
The 27-years-old will most certainly be key in Austria’s bid to progress into the latter stages of the European Championships and his immense proficiency in the attacking third will be vital to Austria’s chances of progress from their group stage.
Arnautovic is reportedly keen on a move to a bigger club as he feels Stoke City can’t match his ambitions and hunger for silverware – if he can do what is expected of him in Euro 2016, he’ll definitely have a long list of top clubs keen on acquiring his services.