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Michael Clarke’s 98 could not stop his unthinkable series loss from coming a step closer after Grant Elliott kept a cool head to complete a six-wicket victory for New Zealand, who were solid without being spectacular

The Bulletin by Brydon Coverdale at the MCG06-Feb-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Michael Clarke scored 98 opening the innings © Getty Images
Michael Clarke’s 98 could not stop his unthinkable series loss from coming a step closer after Grant Elliott kept a cool head to complete a six-wicket victory for New Zealand, who were solid without being spectacular. Despite making hard work of a less than imposing chase of 226, New Zealand got home with seven balls to spare to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.On a day when the glitzy IPL auction caught the attention of much of the cricketing world, Australia and New Zealand combined to produce a distinctly unglamorous match that was hardly the best advertisement for the 50-over format. It was a throwback to the 1980s, when 220 was considered a good target and top-order men like Geoff Marsh and John Wright were commended for compiling 50 off 90 balls.The lack of prettiness did not worry New Zealand, who gave their countrymen another reason to celebrate Waitangi Day when Elliott brought up the win with a pull for four off Ben Hilfenhaus. He finished unbeaten on 61 from 75 balls, which was his highest ODI score, and he was the only New Zealand batsmen who looked like truly imposing himself on the match. But as a group they did enough to outshine Australia, who had relied entirely on Clarke and Michael Hussey to post 5 for 225.It continued Australia’s strange trend of losing the next match after the Allan Border Medal ceremony. Not since 2004-05 have they followed the awards night with a win, which is hardly surprising for an event that should really be a season-ending party. In the field Australia were sloppy and with the bat uninspired.Hussey and Clarke both put down chances – Clarke’s a very tough one – an easy run-out opportunity was missed and there were fumbles and overthrows that must have left the fielding coach Mike Young shaking his head. The middling target meant New Zealand’s batsmen didn’t quite know how aggressive to be – Brendon McCullum’s 43 from 75 balls gave them a base but he was uncharacteristically quiet.Ross Taylor’s 47 featured three fours and when he edged behind late in the chase it gave Australia a sniff. But Elliott was superbly calm and his second ODI half-century, along with some excellent support from Neil Broom, ensured that New Zealand did not let the required run-rate balloon beyond control.The result was terrific for a New Zealand side that enjoys chasing and made the most of the chance to send Australia in. Kyle Mills and Daniel Vettori were the most economical of the bowlers and Iain O’Brien chipped in with the two important wickets of Clarke and Hussey. Importantly, the visitors were sharp in the field.Vettori’s direct hit from mid-off ended the innings of David Hussey (10), who had been promoted to No. 4, and it was one of several alterations to Australia’s order. Without the injured Shaun Marsh and the resting Ricky Ponting, they promoted Brad Haddin to No. 3 and after walking to the crease to a mixture of cheers and jeers after the Perth controversy, Haddin departed for 12 when he flashed outside off stump against Tim Southee and was caught behind.The only change that did work for Australia was the decision to open with Clarke. After David Warner went early, skying an attempted slog off Mills, Clarke took a cautious approach, conscious of the way the middle order had struggled throughout the summer. He and Michael Hussey combined for a 133-run fifth-wicket stand that steadied Australia but their lack of urgency was a concern.When they did try to lift the rate in the late overs, O’Brien removed them both and added to the hurt by striking Clarke on the toe with a painful yorker. Two balls later Clarke was bowled for a 133-ball 98 that showed he was not distracted by stories about his dressing-room scuffle with Simon Katich.He waited for bad balls to dispatch his seven boundaries, which included a classy pull off Southee and a few flicks off his pads. Mostly Clarke knocked the ball around into gaps and he picked up 48 singles, running well with Hussey. But the tight bowling meant the pair could not dominate with the bat and when they took the batting Powerplay from the 35th over it brought them only 33 runs.Hussey’s 75 from 94 balls featured four fours and it was a typically careful affair that highlighted his importance in a young side. But in a team missing its captain and best batsman, the efforts of the two remaining leaders were simply not enough to keep Clarke’s unbeaten record as Australian captain alive. They head into Sunday’s match in Sydney again without Ponting and in serious danger of handing back the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy.

Pleased with his performance with both bat and ball, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori said he was frustrated with the poor showing from his batsmen in Chittagong

Cricinfo staff18-Oct-2008
Daniel Vettori: “I think the most important thing a captain can do is lead with performance and so far I have been able to do that” © AFP
If Jacob Oram made up for New Zealand’s batting failures in the first two ODIs of the Bangladesh tour, it was their captain Daniel Vettori who had to rescue his team in the first Test in Chittagong, a job he said isn’t finished yet.New Zealand are trailing by 90 runs in the first innings with one wicket left, and Vettori hoped to add a few more on the third day. “There is still a lot of time left in this game,” he said. “If [last man] Iain O’Brien and I can put on another 20-30 runs and bowl exceptionally well in the second innings then we will be up for a run-chase. Bangladesh are definitely in control but we still have a chance to get back in this game.”Vettori’s unbeaten 48 helped New Zealand from 100 for 7 to 155 for 9, after he took 5 for 59 in Bangladesh’s innings. “I think the most important thing a captain can do is lead with performance and so far I have been able to do that,” he said. “But our performance with the bat is a bit frustrating.”New Zealand’s batsmen are largely inexperienced in subcontinent conditions but Vettori felt the collapse was more due to poor batting. “That probably played some part but overall we didn’t play that well. Some of the options we took were very poor and that allowed Shakib [Al Hasan] and the other Bangladesh bowlers to bowl to their plan. The wicket did a little bit but not so much to put us in that position.”Vettori’s five-for was overshadowed by another left-arm spinner. Shakib Al Hasan, who had only three wickets in six Tests prior to this one, ripped through New Zealand with a six-wicket haul. “He bowled exceptionally well,” Vettori said. “His type of bowling is very well suited to this type of wicket. It’s outstanding. He never bowled a bad ball and that’s why he got six wickets.”With the pitch deteriorating, the spinners are expected to play a vital role – they took 14 out of 15 wickets on Saturday – and Vettori said they got more purchase with a newer ball. “I think it is more dependent on how you use the bowlers,” he said. “As the day grows and the ball gets older it dies a little bit. We found that when we were bowling. I think Bangladesh were at their most dangerous early on with both [Abdur] Razzak and Shakib bowling with the newish ball. As the day went on I was out there and it didn’t seem to be turning that much. I guess it gets easier the longer you bat but that’s the same anywhere in the world.”Shakib said the pitch was yet to show signs of uneven bounce, but said there was turn and bounce for him. With one wicket left, Shakib has a chance of bettering Bangladesh’s best bowling figures in a Test innings. Enamul Haque jnr holds the record with his 7 for 95 against Zimbabwe in 2005.Pointing out that Oram was the most important among his scalps, Shakib said his best moment of the day was the stunning catch he took at midwicket to dismiss Jeetan Patel off the last ball of the day. He said the team wasn’t thinking about what would be a formidable target to set New Zealand yet. If Bangladesh do build on the advantage gained today, it could set them up for their second Test win.

Injuries to Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have given India a major headache ahead of the remaining four matches – that of finding a solid opening combination

Jamie Alter in Dambulla19-Aug-2008
Gautam Gambhir is India’s only remaining specialist opener in Sri Lanka © AFP
Injuries to Sachin Tendulkar, during the third Test, and Virender Sehwag, during training on the eve of the five-ODI series, have given India a major headache ahead of the remaining four matches – that of finding a solid opening combination.Tendulkar’s 13,245 runs and 38 centuries as opener is beyond compare, while Sehwag’s ability to provide explosive starts tackle Sri Lanka’s spinners was paramount. With the BCCI deciding not to send a replacement for Sehwag – how this team could do with a Sourav Ganguly now – India are left with only one specialist opener in Gautam Gambhir.India’s predicament was obvious in game one. In 70 domestic limited-overs matches Subramaniam Badrinath has never opened, and so India felt they had no option but young Virat Kohli. It put a lot of pressure on Kohli, and it showed. Kohli has spent most of his domestic career in the middle order, but was preferred for this match because of his success in the recent Emerging Players Tournament in Australia. Yet it was extremely difficult for him to assume the responsibility of opening the innings. He didn’t look the part in the warm-up match either.The only others in the squad who have opened at the international level are Parthiv Patel (53 runs from four games in 2004,) and Irfan Pathan. In terms of team composition Pathan appears the best option; he is technically accomplished and can score quickly.The first time he was sent in at No. 3, against Sri Lanka in Nagpur in 2005, Pathan hit 83 from 70 balls. He had further success against Pakistan in Peshawar and Kuala Lumpur. The thinking on those occasions was to try to utilise the early overs. In Sri Lanka once the ball becomes old and soft, it will not be easy to play shots – something that is particularly crucial in this series, given the Mendis-and-Murali threat which follows. Sending him up the order will take the pressure off the middle order. Maybe Pathan could even be asked to go after the new-ball bowlers, with a target of scoring around 100 in the first 12 overs.The problem was not just at the top yesterday. What was disappointing was the irresponsible shots played. Gambhir played down the wrong line to the second ball of the match, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma threw away their wickets without even facing the spinners, while Yuvraj Singh left a gaping hole between bat and pad against Ajantha Mendis. Mahendra Singh Dhoni also fell attempting a cute cut.If a few batsmen had chosen to dig deep, the script might have been different. A target of 200 would have been tough on this track. It seemed everyone was trying to do a Virender Sehwag, when what was needed was preservation. India’s highest partnership was 37 between Rohit and Yuvraj, followed by the 29 that the last pair of Pragyan Ojha and Munaf Patel put on. Like Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma at the PSS, Harbhajan Singh, Ojha and Munaf batted time against the spinners.Since India’s premature elimination from the World Cup, this side has been in transition. Senior batsmen like Ganguly and Rahul Dravid – both members of the 10,000 club – have been dropped and Dhoni’s method of experimenting has yielded both good results (the decision to play five bowlers at Hobart earlier this year keeping in mind ground conditions, entrusting Praveen Kumar with the new ball) and bad (playing the extra batsman in the Asia Cup final).This is a motivated side with an inspirational leader. You can argue that too much self-analysis can obstruct the creativity of this youthful team. There is a feeling that India’s one-day team is more likely to succeed because of the youth factor and the exuberance it brings. It may well succeed because of its inexperience.In the past, Indian teams haven’t been allowed enough leeway in testing times. There have been too many young players drafted in as lambs to the slaughter, with inadequate returns marring the blueprints. There is plenty of one-day cricket coming up and Dhoni and the selectors have identified this as the core group for the immediate future. The talent of the side is not in doubt, the preparation and applications is.India are known to be slow starters in any series, and they have the ability to bounce back in the remaining matches. But some serious introspection is needed if India aim to leave Sri Lanka unscathed. They can start by thinking out of the box.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has broken ranks with the official cricketing establishment by deciding to allow five cricketers and an umpire who had signed up for the unauthorised ICL last year to play domestic cricket

Sa'adi Thawfeeq19-Sep-2008
Marvan Atapattu and Russel Arnold’s bans have been lifted © AFP
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has broken ranks with the official cricketing establishment by deciding to allow five cricketers and an umpire who last year signed up for the unauthorised ICL to play domestic cricket. The significant decision was taken by SLC’s interim committee last week and has become public two days after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) became the latest nationol body to ban its ICL cricketers from all forms of official cricket.ICL officials have welcomed the move as “a step in the right direction”.The five cricketers who are now eligible to play for their respective clubs are Marvan Atapattu, the former Sri Lanka captain, Russel Arnold, Upul Chandana, Avishka Gunawardene and Saman Jayantha; the umpire is Ranmore Martinesz. Atapattu, Arnold and Chandana retired from international cricket to play in the ICL, and will now be seen in Sri Lanka’s Premier League and the limited-overs tournament, which are scheduled to start next month.Duleep Mendis, the chief executive of SLC, told Cricinfo the board’s interim committee took this decision at a meeting following a request from the cricketers. “The interim committee has allowed these ICL players to play in domestic cricket after they sought permission to do so. This decision refers to a specific application from a specific group of players to take part in domestic cricket,” Mendis said. He refused to comment on whether similar waivers would be granted in future to cricketers who take part in subsequent editions of ICL — the league’s second season starts on October 10.”Players will be allowed to play for their respective clubs and share their expertise, but cannot represent the country,” Shane Fernando, the Sri Lanka Cricket media manager, told .”This is a step in the right direction,” Himanshu Mody, the business head of ICL, told Cricinfo. “We hope that this decision paves the way for Sri Lankan cricketers to play for the ICL and their country in the near future.”The Sri Lankan move was not unexpected, though, after SLC invited Arnold and Chandana to attend post-match prize distribution ceremonies during the Indian series in August. That was in stark contrast to the approach adopted by the BCCI and other national boards, which have banned ICL cricketers from all official platforms – the trade laws in UK, however, ensure that these players can play county cricket.The Indian board, meanwhile, has expressed disappointment at the Sri Lankan move and said it will take up the matter with the ICC. “We are disappointed by this move from Sri Lanka,” Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, told Cricinfo. “We will now refer the matter to the ICC, which is already debating the issue of unauthorised cricket.”The ICC, which has formed a committee on unauthorised cricket, had clarified that any move to ban such players will “have to be taken by the respective boards of the concerned players”.SLC had banned these cricketers last year when they joined the ICL which was in direct conflict to the BCCI-run IPL where 13 cricketers from the national team participated. The BCB on Wednesday banned 13 of its ICL cricketers, including Habibul Bashar, the former captain, for ten years from domestic and international cricket.

Former Glasgow Rangers chairman Dave King is unhappy with the behaviour of certain Gers fans towards supporters group Club 1872.

The Lowdown: Allegations directed

Club 1872 has been given the chance to purchase King’s shares, and they have three years to do so (Sky Sports). The supporters group wants to give 20,000 fans the chance to buy a share.

However, the group is now facing a vote of no confidence, and they have been accused of a lack of corporate governance.

The Latest: King unhappy

Speaking to The Scottish Sun, King has shared his frustration with those supporters who have spoken out against Club 1872. He said:

“The supporters need to be able to talk with one voice at times when the club needs to be challenged. 

“Club 1872 has done this effectively for many years and I am concerned that the club’s recent success has created short memories. 

“I am starting to see the emergence of the type of back-biting by supporters against each other that was so typical and so damaging to the club during the David Murray era.

“I truly hope that the supporter unity that was essential to regime change – and hence our recent success – does not get degraded merely because a few embittered supporters resort to social media as a megaphone to trumpet unfair allegations. 

“That is a disservice to all the loyal supporters that supported me at regime change and thereafter.

“Individual share ownership has never been an effective source of supporter influence. 

“Club 1872 is the only viable option to achieve that.”

The Verdict: Trying to do the right thing

The Gers supporters have been given a fantastic opportunity to have a say and a voice in their club – this is something of which many fans at clubs around the world can only dream. Why some supporters now seem angry with Club 1872 is perplexing – surely they should be happy with what the group has managed to achieve.

Raising the £13.3m needed to purchase King’s shares will be a hard task, but the only way they will achieve it is if the supporters stick together. As King himself says, infighting between Gers fans will not do anyone any good.

In other news, Rangers have this worrying funding gap to fill.

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa can sign a dream Kiko Casilla replacement in Newcastle United goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.

What’s the story?

The Yorkshire club confirmed in recent days that Casilla has jetted back to his native Spain to join Elche on a season-long loan, thus leaving them short of a number two goalkeeper ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

According to The Athletic’s Phil Hay, the Whites are targeting a move for Magpies shot-stopper Woodman, with the club said to be “admirers” of the 6 foot 2 ace.

Time’s up for Casilla

Given his off-field controversy, along with Illan Meslier’s emergence onto the scene as Leeds’ number one, it’s safe to say things haven’t gone quite so well for Casilla over these past couple of years.

Speaking after Leeds’ FA Cup loss to Crawley Town last season, journalist Daniel Storey raged: “I think Kiko Casilla was the other game-changer in a negative sense because I don’t think he should be playing for Leeds for non-football reasons, but he probably shouldn’t be playing for Leeds for football reasons after today.”

Meanwhile, Leeds TV podcaster Oscar Mario simply branded him a “complete liability”.

The £9m-rated Woodman, on the other hand, has previously been described as “unbelievable” by Lee Clark, who coached him at Kilmarnock and was very effusive in his praise of how he has developed.

He told The Athletic: “I knew he was an outstanding young keeper and had all the attributes. The tough thing was I had an experienced goalkeeper in Jamie MacDonald in the team — that was causing one or two issues in terms of what I wanted to do. 

“But I knew I was bringing a talented goalkeeper in. Freddie’s communication, his shot-stopping and his distribution skills are second to none. He’s an unbelievable professional and works extremely hard at his game.”

Woodman didn’t miss a single game last season for Swansea during his loan spell with the Championship club, keeping 21 clean sheets in his 48 outings for the Swans.

The goalkeeper’s form in recent years has also earned calls for him to be included in Gareth Southgate’s England setup – a real indication of the kind of high esteem in which he is held.

At only 24, he’s a decade younger than Casilla – who earns £40,000 per week – and would offer Bielsa a much fresher option to compete with Meslier for the number one jersey at Elland Road.

With Casilla’s contract at Leeds only expiring in the summer of 2023, a loan spell at Elche won’t see him depart for good when he returns next year. However, if the Whites manage to land Woodman this summer, then Bielsa can finally let Casilla go permanently.

Meanwhile, Adam Pope has dropped an exciting Leeds United update…

Greg O’Keeffe has dropped an update on the future of Everton outcast Bernard…

What’s the talk?

According to Greg O’Keeffe of The Athletic, Bernard is closing in on an exit from Goodison Park this week and looks set for a move to UAE side Sharjah.

O’Keeffe has claimed that the word from UAE is that there has been an agreement between the two sides, with the Brazilian now poised to leave the club ahead of next season.

Fans will be buzzing

Everton fans will surely be buzzing with this news as the club are on the verge of shedding the Brazilian’s wages off the bill. He is reportedly on £120k-per-week and the top-earner alongside Yerry Mina, with Lucas Digne just behind the pair on £119k-per-week.

The forward has not done anywhere near enough to warrant such a pay packet whilst in England. Bernard has racked up five goals and five assists in three seasons, starting 43 Premier League matches in that time. Across his three campaigns for the club, he averaged WhoScored ratings of 6.60, 6.56 and 6.41 respectively – getting progressively worse each year.

This shows that he has been underperforming and not living up to his wages, which is why fans will be happy to see the back of him. To back up his lack of impact on the pitch, Everton journalist Gavin Buckland called Bernard lightweight last year and questioned his future at the club due to his lack of regular first-team football. He said:

“He’s been here two seasons. If you’ve been at a club two seasons and you’ve not really nailed down a first-team place, you’ve got to be asking questions about what your long-term or medium-term future is.

“He’s far too lightweight.

“He has his moments of excellence, as we well know, but whether he’d be somebody you’d hang your hat on to produce good performances week in week out is open to question.”

Everton have been paying him £120k-per-week to not be a regular starter and rarely contribute with end product in front of goal. This is why this update from O’Keeffe will be music to the ears of the supporters and, hopefully, a deal can be pushed over the line in the coming days and Bernard will no longer be a Toffee.

Getting his wages off the bill could also free up funds for the club to reinvest back into a new signing. The club will be saving £6.2m-per-season by letting him go along with however much Sharjah are paying for his services. This could then be used to strengthen elsewhere in the side, giving Rafa Benitez and Marcel Brands some additional money to work with.

AND in other news, Everton eye swoop for 18-goal “supreme talent”, he’s their dream Richarlison successor…

There have been many one-day games won and lost in the final over and won andlost by four runs or less

Rick Eyre22-May-2008There have been many one-day games won and lost in the final over and won andlost by four runs or less. But few had the importance, the occasion, thedrama of today’s final of the 2000 CricInfo Women’s World Cup.Today’s game – won by New Zealand by four runs with five balls remaining -was filled to the brim with drama and tension. For me, it surpasses theencounter at Lord’s in 1975 between the West Indies and Australia as thegreatest World Cup Final, men’s or women’s, of all time. It may even surpassthe 1999 semi-final at Edgbaston, the tied match between Australia and SouthAfrica, as the greatest World Cup match of all.It was a game with almost everything. A match which, on form, Australiashould have won comfortably – and looked like they would when New Zealandcrumbled to be all out for 184.But New Zealand quickly took the ascendancy with the early removal of the twooutstanding batsmen of the tournament, Lisa Keightley and Karen Rolton.Belinda Clark, whose World Cup with the bat started shakily but gatheredmomentum as the tournament progressed, played an elegant and controlledinnings. She dominated the Australian fightback, scoring roughly threequarters of her team’s runs while she was at the crease.Clark was playing the innings of her life and steering Australia toits fifth Women’s World Cup… until she was on 91. She attempted a sweep toa ball that many less talented players would have chosen to drive on the onside – and was bowled around her legs. It was a masterpiece of an innings,yet in the end so tantalisingly futile.And with the wickets tumbling and Australia’s required run-rate hoveringaround the run-a-ball mark, there was the most sensational of events at thestart of the 49th over when Cathryn Fitzpatrick’s leg bail fell to groundsome time after the ball has passed through to the keeper. Had the ballbrushed the stump or did the wind blow? The third umpire, after a long, longlook, gave Fitzpatrick out bowled.With the first ball of the fiftieth over, the seventh World Cup reached itsclimax, as Charmaine Mason got a faint nick to a ball from Clare Nicholsonwhich was taken by Rebecca Rolls. New Zealand, the host team, the underdogsof this final, had come from behind to win the most important title in thenation’s cricketing history.The game was also a fitting farewell to two of the legends of New Zealand’swomen’s cricket, Debbie Hockley and Catherine Campbell.A four-run victory to New Zealand, and it is just as well that the strayplastic cup inside the boundary rope this morning, shaving two runs off acertain Kiwi boundary, didn’t make a difference.In a World Cup tournament which has been very predictable in its overallresults (though never, I hasten to add, dull), the joyous unpredictability ofthe sport came home to roost on the final day. The form side of thetournament, and indeed one of the great national teams in the history ofAustralian women’s sport, had been held to second-best on the day when itreally mattered.

Thirty-five players on the fringe of the Indian team have checked into the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for a training camp that would end on July 31

Cricinfo staff13-Jun-2008Thirty-five players on the fringe of the Indian team have checked into the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for a training camp that would end on July 31. The camp includes players from two teams who will play in the Emerging Players tournament in Australia from July 14 and the tour of Israel from July 13 to 16.The camp started with the coaches having one-on-one sessions with the batsmen and the bowlers. On June 14, players will be put through a drill by Paul Chapman, the strengthening and conditioning coach, and Paul Close, the physiotherapist.Players: Shikhar Dhawan, Manoj Tiwary, S Badrinath, Ashok Dinda, Siddharth Trivedi, Munaf Patel, Ajit Agarkar, Ashish Nehra, L Balaji (who is going to UK on June 15 for a three-week stint), VRV Singh, Pankaj Singh, Parthiv Patel, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane, M Vijay, Abhishek Nayar, Ravindra Jadeja, Vijaykumar Yomahesh, Sudeep Tyagi, Vinay Kumar, Moondeep Mangela, Samad Fallah, Ranadeb Bose, Basanth Mohanty, Pritamjit Das, Wriddhiman Saha, Swapnil Asnodkar, DB Ravi Teja, Yogesh Takawale, Mohnish Parmar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rakesh Dhurv, Pinal Shah, Iqbal Abdullah and P Vijaykumar.Coaching and conditioning staff: Dav Whatmore, Dinesh Nanavati, Praveen Amre, B Arun, Chinmoy Roy, Afzal Khan, Vaibhav Daga, Shivshankar, Vijay Rathore, V Venkatram, Pradeep Kasliwal, R. Sridhar, Munish Bali and Sanath Kumar. GR Viswanath and L Sivaramakrishnan will be consultants.

An update has emerged on West Brom’s Sam Johnstone, regarding Arsenal’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Star, Arsenal are interested in a deal to sign Sam Johnstone from West Brom this summer after being put off by Sheffield United’s £25m valuation of Aaron Ramsdale.

The report claims that the Gunners want strong competition for Bernd Leno next season and they are now looking at the Baggies shot-stopper as a potential target. Johnston was relegated from the Premier League with the Baggies and they are now demanding £20m to let him leave.

Fans would love it

Edu must get a deal done for Johnstone this summer as fans would love it and Mikel Arteta needs him.

Arsenal sold Emi Martinez to Aston Villa for £20m last summer and, in doing so, lost their main competition for Leno heading into the Premier League season. Mat Ryan came in on loan in the second-half of the campaign, but the club do not currently employ a senior shot-stopper to rival the German.

This is why Arteta needs Johnstone at The Emirates. The 28-year-old could come in and seriously push Leno for his place in the starting XI, which could either result in him either replacing the German as the number one for the Gunners or the ex-Leverkusen man upping his game and providing consistent performances in the Premier League. Either way, Arsenal and Arteta would come out as winners in that situation.

Former Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce once labeled Johnstone as a “diamond” and praised his willingness to learn on the training pitch.

He told the Birmingham Mail:

“We all knew he was a top-class goalkeeper and he’s looking the part now.

“Everyone needs a bit of confidence but with Sam he just needed to play. It’s a specialised position where you have to be patient. Goalkeepers go on until they’re 40 and they’re late starters.

“He’s a diamond – first in, last out. He’s a typical goalkeeper who wants to learn.”

This shows that Johnstone has the right attitude required to be successful and that he would potentially be willing to come in and bide his time for a chance, working hard in training to earn his spot. He has already shown that he can thrive at Premier League level, with an excellent average WhoScored rating of 6.74 for West Brom last season, compared to the disappointing score of 6.56 Leno managed for Arsenal.

The fans could love Johnstone at The Emirates as he is a homegrown, talented, goalkeeper who could come in and be a strong addition to the squad. His flying saves could get fans off their seats applauding if he arrives at the club this summer and this is why Edu must get to work on a swoop for the £20m England international.

AND in other news, Edu must avoid grave Arsenal error over “powerful” £260k-p/w beast, fans would hate it…