'He’s fit into the group so well': Arnie hails Boyle after eye-catching Lebanon display

Convincing Martin Boyle to play for the Caltex Socceroos was a no-brainer, according to Graham Arnold.

On an evening where the Caltex Socceroos' greatest goal scorer Tim Cahill was farewelled, Boyle’s double could prove to be a changing of the guard moment for the Australian national team.

The 25-year-old Hibernian attacker capped his starting debut for Australia with a brace in Tuesday night’s 3-0 win over Lebanon in Sydney.

REPORT: Boyle hits double as Caltex Socceroos farewell Cahill in style against Lebanon 
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“We look all over the world for players. When I went to Hibs to see Mark [Milligan] and Jamie [Maclaren] I spent a day there watching him train.

“It was a no-brainer, [to see] if I could convince him to play for Australia. To be honest I didn’t have to work too hard to convince him, he was very keen to do it.

“He’s fit into the group so well. He’s a fantastic kid and it was a pretty special night last night when we presented him with his debut jersey, and he got it from Timmy [Cahill]. I just said to him, you may have to be number four now!”

Boyle’s swagger and incision was on full display in front of a 33,268-strong crowd at ANZ Stadium.

It was the Aberdeen-born attacker’s first career double, and a performance emblematic of the energy and high-octane attacking power Arnold has at his disposal.

“You look at the way we play with three number nines and how many men we’re getting in the box to score goals,” he continued.

“Pace is a killer. It’s not easy when you play a team that plays a back five and sits so deep, the space is less.

“But I thought some of the combination play and runs in behind was excellent and the finishing will come."