We all watched in despair at the Asian Cup as the Socceroos failed in two specific areas.

We could not hold the ball in midfield and we could not consistently find the guile to get in behind packed defences.

There are two players currently carving up the A League and they are fully equipped to take the Socceroos to the next level if Arnie is willing to give them the keys and unleash them on an opponent we ought to be able to beat comfortably with a B team.

Daniel Arzani has done it before.

Australia’s wunderkind in 2018, he played with panache and gay abandon – setting up chances for fun – until his terrible ACL injury on debut for Celtic.

It’s taken him a really long time to find his way back from that but finally, six years later, he’s hitting his straps again. Arzani’s performances for Victory this season see him better than ever. No other Australian player has his sleight of foot, his vision, his eye for a pass.

He pulls the strings for Victory and could just as well do that for the Socceroos when surrounded by better players. His game on Tuesday (off the bench) was masterful and while he had two assists at the death to win it late, it could easily have been four or five.

Perhaps he’s guilty of trying too hard sometimes and perhaps his teammates aren’t always on his wavelength, but we simply don’t have his level of attacking talent anywhere else. It’s time to bring him back.

As for Josh Nisbet, I’ve said before there is no better midfielder than him in the A League. After his performance tonight against Macarthur in the AFC Cup, I’m saying that (on his day) there is no better player in the A League – period.

And his day comes round a lot.

He had a dip in form in the loss against Sydney, but even that speaks volumes. When Nizzy plays well, the Mariners are unbeatable. Why shouldn’t the Socceroos have some of that?

The secret to his game is his height. So often overlooked (literally) or underestimated, Nizz has a low centre of gravity and incredible footspeed that enables him to twist and turn, keeping the ball in the tightest of situations, and then spraying passes through the channels to set up chances.

He did it time and again on Thursday night for the likes of Torres and Edmondson… how would he go setting up chances for Goodwin, Silvera, Yengi, Boyle, McGree, Irankunda, Kuol or Arzani?

Even more important is his ability to win the ball cleanly and hold possession or start attacks from broken play. I despaired of the Socceroos stringing four passes together after the group phase of the Asian Cup but both Nisbet and Arzani are technically gifted players capable of holding the ball and bringing others into the game.

The Socceroos will be evolving over the next 12 months and both Arzani and Nizz are around 24. They are just coming into the very best years of their careers and the time is right to start building our team around them (and a handful of others).

We have a good defence and a reasonable defensive midfield. These are two of the missing pieces that could really take us forward over the next few years.

Do it Arnie.

Unleash them.

 

Adrian's books can be purchased at any good bookstore or through ebook alchemy. His first sci-fi novel (Asparagus Grass) was published by Hague Publishing in July 2023. The ebook can be purchased here and the paperback can be ordered here or at your local store.