Arnautovic endured something of a troublesome relationship with staff and team-mates at Bremen before leaving for Stoke City in 2013, where he had a far happier spell.
The 28-year-old, who cost West Ham a reported £28m in the transfer window, admits his attitude as a youngster did not help matters early in his career but says he made an important decision to turn away from his friends life of crime and focus on football.
Everywhere they threw me out, he said of his days in youth teams. I didn t give a f*** about what I did. I didn t care about anyone or listen to nobody, only my father or mother.
I would fight my coaches and say: Who are you to scream or shout at me? Are you my dad? Talk to me normally . Everywhere I went, Rapid Wien or Austria Wien, there was always a problem. I just wanted a coach who said: Just go out and win us the game .
My parents tried but I chose the other way, to be on the street. I wasn t a gangster or anything but two friends went to jail. Nobody was killed but it was fights on the street and things.
When you are on the street, if someone walks towards you it s better to look down. But we were always looking at people in the eye to try to provoke something. So we would fight.
Then some of them started robbing. I am happy I got away as that wasn t a good time. I was telling my friends: Don t go in that house to rob or that shop as you will end up in jail . I told them to go and work and have a good life. Robbing someone is not a good life.
But look, let s not exaggerate, most of the time we were just in the park playing football. Football was everything.
If I had continued to be that person I was then, I wouldn t be here now. I was scared a career in football would never happen if I carried on. I knew I had to go away and see some different things and calm down.
