#2 In the process, we trust: Joe Willock at Newcastle United, Cheerio Joe Montemurro
Data Vizulitaion: Joe Willock at Newcastle United
Ever since departing Arsenal for Newcastle United in January, Joe Willock has made huge strides in establishing himself as one of Arsenal’s and England’s most promising talents in the Premier League.
The 21-year-old has been one of the prime reasons behind Newcastle United’s late surge to Premier League safety contributing key goals, six to be exact, from midfield. Inspite of joining in January and playing a total of just 804 minutes, Willock has secured his spot as Newcastle’s second-highest goal-scorer only behind the former Bournemouth man, Callum Wilson.
As can be seen, all of his goals have come from shots originated inside the box, a special quality for a midfielder, though one that the Gunners fans would already be familiar with having watched a certain Aaron Ramsey over the years.
Joe Willock’s sole contribution of six goals for Newcastle United outweighs the combined contribution of Arsenal midfield of five goals to their team’s tally. Infact, Willock is also averaging more goals per 90 for the Magpies, 0.67, than Arsenal’s top scorer Alex Lacazette (0.61 goals per 90).
However, Willock isn’t the most creative midfielder with just six key passes over 12 appearances for Steve Bruce’ side. He has never been known for his creativity throughout his career, which made Arsenal’s decision to play him as a No 10 ever more difficult to explain. Though, luckily for him, Steve Bruce has found just the perfect role for him in his setup.
Joe Willock’s incredible athletism is at its full display in the aforementioned Vizulitaion. His touches in both halves of the pitch, wouldn’t differ by much, which showcases his undoubted talent to play as a genuine Box-to-Box midfielder, a rare and precious species of midfielders.
Another of his unique talents is his penalty box entries, so many of them are right in front of the goal, giving him the best possible opportunity to take a shot if provided with enough time and space.
If there is one profile Arsenal have missed the most in their midfield it is of a physically dominating progressor and Joe Willock is exactly that. His tussle with Adama Traore raised a few eyebrows as the lanky Arsenal academy graduate was able to brush off the Wolves man with ease to win a duel.
Not many No 8s in the Premier League have such physical dominance to their game, combine it with Willock’s progressive competency and there is your ideal No 8 profile for the Premier League.
Who remembers the start of the last season, Joe Willock started against his current side in the season opener, and during the first-half Willock made a crunching tackle to win the possession back which had Unai Emery, the then Arsenal coach, got going on the touchline.
In his short Newcastle career, Willock has shown an incredible will to contribute defensively to his side, who does play a more pragmatic style of football, as evident in the aforementioned Vizulitaion.
And I'm sure Mikel Arteta wouldn’t mind such a player in his midfield.
The man currently dawning the No 8 for Arsenal, Dani Ceballos, lacks athleticism, which has been a root cause for his struggles in the Premier League. Both, Willock and Ceballos, ain’t defensive-minded players yet Willock is able to outdo the Spaniard defensively purely because of his ability to track back and outrun, and at times even outmuscle, his opponent. Ceballos has none of these attributes and has got exposed due to it often enough during this season.
If Arsenal need to replace Dani Ceballos, they should not even bother looking into the market, Joe Willock is right there.
Cheerio Joe Montemurro
Arsenal bid adieu to its woman’s team head coach Joe Montemurro with a scintillating, and in many ways, a fitting tribute for a coach who revolutionized the Arsenal team ever since coming onboard in 2017.
I have sadly never followed Arsenal women’s team so my knowledge about Montemurro is only limited to all the articles and interviews that I have read about him recently. But I genuinely feel gutted to have not followed his incredible journey, one which took him from washing dishes to holding FA Super League trophy.
Joe Montemurro hung up his boots quite early in his playing career. The Australian midfielder, and more specifically ‘regista’, as he defines himself, decided its time to pursue his coaching career at the age of 28. It wasn’t due to a career-ending injury or a lack of success, he simply wanted to restart his life as a coach.
It was not so easy to establish himself for the ‘young’ coach. However, he is a man who lived football through his best and worst days. As he tells in an interview about how he struggled to manage his contribution to the household expenses during the early days of his coaching career.
I found myself coaching at three schools during the day. I’d be doing school jobs from 7–8am, then going to another job from 10–12 and then in the afternoon I’d probably be at another school. At night I’d be coaching at a club and then simultaneously I’d be working on my education.
Sometimes in between that, the money wasn’t great, I still needed to contribute to a mortgage, so I had to find an external job like washing dishes or making coffees whenever I had the time.
I was a graphic designer by trade as well, so I did some odd jobs for graphic design as a sub-contractor. When you want to be involved in an industry that isn’t as regulated, you have to make those sacrifices.
However, better days were arriving soon for the now 51-year-old.
Montemurro started his senior coaching career with Sunshine George Cross, who are currently playing in the fourth tier of football in Victoria, Australia. To understand the man better, you need to have a look at how he thinks about his experience at a club so low down the footballing pyramid.
My first senior coaching position would come three years later at Sunshine George Cross — and that was an interesting challenge, let me tell you. It was a small club with very little resources but a passionate club nonetheless. When we arrived, they were flirting with the bottom two but we were able to save them from relegation in the final few weeks of the season. That was an amazing experience for me and really gave me the confidence that I was ready for this level of coaching.
His first major success came with Melbourne City as the head coach of their women's team as he won the championship in its maiden season, he repeated the feat again next season and interestingly enough, without losing a single match all season.
Then arrived Arsenal for him as the London giants sacked Pedro Martínez Losa after a poor start to the season.
When I arrived, the first thing I wanted to do was bring the belief and enjoyment back into each individual. The most important thing was to set a standard, to show them where we needed to be and what we needed to adhere to, and finally to bring back the DNA that is Arsenal. I don’t think I’d be here if I was a coach that liked to defend or play long ball, second ball. I’m a proactive coach who wants to retain possession, and I think we’ve bought into a methodology that adheres to that and playing the Arsenal way.
I was awestruck after reading this, he truly understood Arsenal and its values. Arsenal appointed a manager from a rather unfamiliar territory who went on to revolutionize the team, sounds familiar, no?
Joe Montemurro's time at Arsenal was fruitful, to say the least, he won the FA Women’s League Cup in his first season in-charge and took the side to the FA Cup final. In his next season, he won the FA Women’s Super League and became the first WSL manager to be nominated for Manager of the Year at the London Football Awards, alongside Chelsea’s Maurizio Sarri and Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino.
While his stay at Arsenal could have been longer, however, he’s leaving behind multiple trophies, an exciting team, and a blueprint for success at Arsenal for any incoming manager.
Leaving you with this wonderful video, full of pure emotions for a manager who was able to connect to his players on more than just footballing terms.
Thank you and good luck in the future, Joe. 💙
