“If I’m stood beside Glenn Whelan and I’ve done something wrong, he’ll dig me out.”
You don’t muck around when Glenn Whelan’s around you.
He might not be the most popular player on the Republic of Ireland squad but there’s a reason top managers keep picking him automatically and there’s a reason why his team mates respect and appreciate him. There must be.
Well, Charlie Adam reckons that Glenn Whelan is so good that Arsenal could be doing with a player like him.
Before the turn of the year, we spoke with a journalist in Stoke who said that, pound for pound, you’d struggle to argue against Glenn Whelan as the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League.
Another loss for Arsenal on Wendesday night – their third loss in a row – and that lack of steel has never been more evident. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Whelan’s Stoke ally Charlie Adam reckons that no-one talks on the pitch for the Gunners. And no-one holds themselves like Whelan does.
“Nobody [talks],” he said. “There’s not really anybody.
“There are players in other teams where you know if you do something wrong you see them get dug out. I see [Alexis] Sanchez sometimes but he does it in the wrong way, he throws his arms in the air and things like that.
“If I’m stood beside Glenn Whelan and I’ve done something wrong, he’ll dig me out. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t like me, he just knows you’re better than what you are. And sometimes you need that, you need that rollicking to spur you on.
“Playing against Arsenal, I just don’t see it. I don’t see that type of player, who gets to that stage where they want to have a go at somebody, just to try to gee them up and get them going.
“Sadly it’s missing.”
Just last month, Glenn Whelan was praised for his bossing performance against Arsenal during their goalless draw at the Britannia Stadium.
The Republic of Ireland international was hailed as the reason why Man City, Man United, Chelsea, West Ham and Arsenal were unable to score against Stoke.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXqGIc364Fs
Not everyone seemed convinced.
@BBCSport So Arsenal need Glenn Whelan?!?
— domsutton (@domsutton) February 29, 2016
Tell it to Buffon, why don’t you?
