Arnold praises Socceroos depth building
Graham Arnold praised the depth in the Subway Socceroos squad following their 2-0 win over New Zealand on Wednesday morning.
Since Arnold took over as coach, he’s been tasked with rejuvenating the squad, bringing in younger talent across the pitch.
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With experienced Aussie regulars such as Aaron Mooy and Trent Sainsbury no longer in the squad, a new, youthful core has had to step up.
Midfielder Keanu Baccus has put in two well-played full games back-to-back this window, while Arnold is getting headaches with his defensive selection.
Cameron Burgess performed strongly at Wembley against England, while Alessandro Circati started on debut against New Zealand in a similarly assured display.
Arnold singled out the performance of 20-year-old defender Circati in the heart of the Australian defence, lauding his composure.
“I thought Alessandro tonight - he already looked like he’d played 30-40 caps. He was so calm,” Arnold said.
“I went and watched him play at Parma against Sampdoria, and what you saw tonight is what you see at club level. He’s very mature for a 20-year-old.”
Arnold explained that the Socceroos are building depth ahead of future tournaments, including developing left-footed wingers on the left.
“With five changes made before the game, and I have said publicly that I’m starting to get headaches now regarding who to pick and choose, and you can see the depth is building,” he said.
“I like having left-footed wingers, and Craig Goodwin did exceptionally well at Wembley, and I gave Jordy [Bos] the chance to tonight, and he was fantastic. It just shows that we’re getting more competition for places.”
While Arnold was impressed with the style of play on display across the October fixtures, he said that the team must get better at finishing off games.
The Socceroos downed New Zealand 2-0 on Wednesday morning, but several chances weren’t finished off to make it a more comfortable scoreline.
“Since I re-signed these last six months it’s been about tough friendlies and playing strong opposition. I thought tonight you could see how sharp the boys were with the ball and we’re playing some really good football. It’s just that final part in the penalty box that we’ve got to fix,” Arnold said.
“The most important thing in these type of games is that we’re creating chances and we created plenty but again we’ve got to put the ball in the back of the net.
“I was happy with the way we played but again improvement is the key.”