'It's a good dynamic for us' - Eddie Howe's view on Newcastle star ahead of Arsenal
A RIGHT-FOOTED winger delivering crosses from the right-hand side. It almost feels like a footballing throwback in the current era of inverted wingers cutting in to get a shot away, but when it comes to Jacob Murphy and Newcastle United, it is definitely working.
While Alexander Isak’s scoring spree means he has been hogging the headlines in the last few weeks, Murphy’s form has been almost as good as that of his Swedish team-mate.
The 29-year-old has scored three goals in his last six games, and now boasts six Premier League assists for the season, a tally that is bettered by just four players.
He has formed an extremely effective relationship with Isak, with his desire to beat an opposition full-back on the outside and deliver a cross into the middle making him standout amongst the current generation of top-flight attacking wide players.
“He's (Murphy) old-fashioned in the sense that he's a right-footed player playing on the right-hand side, which I think is a good dynamic for us,” said Howe.
“Probably Jacob's stand-out quality is his crossing ability. He's very good, whether it's high crosses, low crosses, he's got that ability to drive infield and then take the line and produce for us. Alex has been the beneficiary of that on a number of occasions this season.
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“But not only that with Jacob, I think tactically he's got a really high-level understanding of what the game needs, so we've asked him to do lots of various roles defensively. He's delivered them absolutely brilliantly for us, so he’s very under-rated in that respect.”
Howe has developed a close relationship with Murphy, with the winger clearly willing to follow whatever tactical instruction he is issued with for a specific game.
Howe’s astute man-management has been a key factor in Newcastle’s rise since he took over just over three years ago, with the boss enjoying working with the current squad.
“It’s a great group of people,” said Howe. “I enjoy coming in everyday and I'm very proud to represent them. You always have good and bad moments and when you are managing 30 players there are always going to be difficult moments to navigate, but they are very respectful generally and very humble. They want to get better, and I really enjoy the day-to-day interactions.”
