Al-Hilal ready to extend Asian football dominance against arch rivals from Japan

NEWCASTLE: Since the day he arrived at Newcastle United, Alexander Isak’s slender frame, running style and electric turn of pace have led fans to draw comparisons between the club’s record signing and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry — one of the Premier League’s greatest ever forwards.

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe has always steered away from putting that kind of pressure on the young Swedish striker’s shoulders. Well, until now. Isak has given Howe little choice, with the public evidence there for all to see.

As the former Borussia Dortmund and Real Sociedad man picked the ball up on the halfway line with the score at 3-1 against Everton on Thursday, few could have predicted the footballing magic they were about to witness.

The affable frontman beat a helpless Ben Godfrey not once but twice, before twisting and turning Michael Keane and Idrissa Gana Gueye in knots with hip swivels and dips of the shoulder, the ball stuck to his right instep as if attached by an invisible cord. Isak then showed pace and guile aplenty to beat Godrey again, just for good measure, before poking the ball past England keeper Jordan Pickford to teammate Jacob Murphy, who had the easiest of finishes.

While Murphy wheeled away in delight at netting his fourth goal of the season for his boyhood club, the rest of the Newcastle pack headed to Isak, their eyes fixed, jaws wide and arms outstretched. They all knew what they’d just seen — and it was something right out of the Henry playbook.

Pundits and experts flocked to show their admiration. Former Newcastle hero John Anderson, a fiesty Dubliner who does commentary for local BBC Radio screamed and burst into joyous laughter in the rows behind Arab News’ own correspondent at Goodison Park. Former England goal scorer supreme Gary Lineker took to social media to sum up the piece of play quite succinctly with the word “Wow.”

And now Howe, asked in the aftermath of his side’s seventh win in eight in the Premier League and prior to the visit of Southampton to St James’ Park, can no longer deny what he has known for so long.

“Yes, I can see the comparisons there,” said Howe reluctantly, before expressing how he’d known for some time that Isak possessed this kind of talent, even though he had yet to witness it away from the club’s PIF-funded, under development Benton training base.

“Everyone is different, there are no two players that are the same, but I do think he has some of the characteristics Thierry had,” Howe said. “He’s certainly got the speed and a similar build and frame. The footwork for the assist tonight was truly remarkable, and I think he’s got a lot of potential to improve and get better. But it’s been a great start for him here.

“I don’t think you ever know with absolute certainty (how good a player can be). Anyone who says that would be lying, because until you work with a player close-up and see them every day, I don’t think you ever know what their true capability is.

“But we’ve been very impressed with everything that he’s delivered to this point, not just technically on the pitch, but his character and how he’s handled certain situations. He’s been first-class.”

However, given Howe’s penchant for squad rotation, Isak is by no means guaranteed a place in the Magpies’ starting XI for the visit of Southampton, whom they’ve beaten three times this campaign already.

Callum Wilson, United’s other main striker, scored another brace on Merseyside to take his tally to 13 in 25 for the season. Isak scored two goals against Tottenham Hotspur just four days prior to the Everton demolition, too, but found himself benched for the next game.

Asked whether he would rotate the players again, Howe said: “I’ll assess the squad, see how everyone is physically. The big thing for me in this period of games we’ve had is trying to pick players that I think are 100 percent fit and not take chances with players.
“If I have a squad or a player in a position where I have a choice between two, I will always pick the more fit player, or who I consider to be fresher or fitter. I’ll try to get those decisions right because certainly physically, we’re going to need to be good, this is going to be a tough game,” he continued.

“It’s a difficult game. They are fighting. I watched the Arsenal game very recently and they were very good against the league leaders, scored three goals, looked a real threat on transitions and set-plays.

“We’ve played Southampton three times this season, so we know their qualities. They’re a good team and it’s going to be a difficult game.”

Howe is expected to be without French winger Allan Saint-Maximin, while there are doubts over the fitness of midfielder Sean Longstaff, who is having an ankle knock assessed by medical staff.

“Maxi won’t be fit. He won’t be available for Sunday,” Howe said. “Maybe the game after, but no guarantee at this moment. I certainly hope he’ll be fit before the end of the season, but with hamstring injuries, there’s always that element of doubt. He’s not had a setback; he just needs to build his fitness levels up and make sure he’s fully fit before he comes back.”