The Hammers’ £27million record signing has flourished under David Moyes, scoring five times before creating Andy Carroll’s late winner in Tuesday’s 2-1 win over fellow strugglers West Brom.
The dramatic victory moved West Ham out of the relegation zone and the mercurial Austrian striker is slowing winning over the fans who initially doubted his commitment to the cause.
“Everyone thinks that footballers go on the pitch and they have so much money that they think about themselves,” said Arnautovic, who is line to face Tottenham. “I’m not like that. Money is not everything.
“Of course, you try to achieve some things to provide for you and your family and your club can pay you whatever they pay you.
“I hear people saying, ‘He came for £27m and he’s done nothing for us’. I want to show people, especially the haters, what I am capable of and bring this club up with everything I have got. I am 28 and still not where I want to be.
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“The fans pay to come to the stadium to see your performance and I want to show the club that they didn’t pay so much for me for nothing.”
Arnautovic, who was red-carded in his second outing as a Hammer, has overcome a tough start to life at West Ham after joining from Stoke.
He has endured a chequered career on the pitch with Jose Mourinho claiming he had an “attitude of a child” at former club Inter Milan.
But his troubles were little compared to his tough upbringing off it back home in Austria, as he was steered away from a life of crime.
“My parents made it easy for me but I always chose to be the other way,” he said. “I wasn’t a gangster or anything but out on the estate playing football in the streets, not on the grass but on the asphalt.
“After school every day I went to the park and we played the whole day. My brother was playing as well and he was probably a bigger talent than me. Now he’s my agent.
“He chose to go to the clubs until four or five o’clock in the morning and not focus on football.
“I’m happy I got away because my parents and my brother pushed me away from the bad things and to focus on football. I was scared a career in football would never happen if I carried on.
“When I was with my friends of course there were fights. But I was always telling them, ‘Think about this – don’t rob someone and go to jail when you are young, for nothing. If you rob someone you might have money but you’ll need to do it again every three days. Whereas if you work you will have steady money every month’.
“I now have two daughters and one day they will read everything about their dad. I want them only to read good things about me. No scandals or anything.”