Graham Arnold has 'clear plan' to solve Socceroos' goalscoring problem
The Socceroos have been too “reliant” on Tim Cahill to score goals, according to Graham Arnold – and the new coach promises that will change. Australia are in dire need of a regular goalscorer to depend on up front to replace Cahill after his retirement from international football last month.
Cahill scored a record 50 goals in 107 appearances, many of them coming at moments when the Socceroos needed them most but Arnold believes players like Jamie Maclaren, Tomi Juric, Mathew Leckie, Robbie Kruse and Daniel Arzani can collectively fill the void.
“The way we played was very heavily reliant on Timmy to score those goals and I will do that differently,” Arnold said. “[Scoring] will not be an issue at all. We have the players already there that can score those goals. I know [them] very, very well. I have a clear plan in mind of the players and what they can do and what they will do.”
Arnold declined to answer whether Maclaren had been given enough of a chance at international level by his predecessors but it seems the 25year-old will be a big part of the Socceroos going forward. Maclaren didn’t get a look in at the World Cup in Russia, where Australia failed to score in open plan despite a flurry of goals for Maclaren at Scottish outfit Hibernian at the end of last season.
“Just talking to Jamie Maclaren over the phone the other day, you can tell that kid really believes in himself,” Arnold said. “It’s about those kids going out there and believing in themselves... I know they can score. They’ve shown it before.”
Arnold also endorsed teenager Arzani’s proposed shift from Melbourne City to Manchester City via Celtic, where he is expected to play on loan for the next two seasons.
“He’s a very intelligent kid, he knows what his plan is, he knows what his goal is and he’s got good people around him to advise him,” Arnold said. “He believes that going to Celtic he’ll get to play more games in Scotland and being part of a Champions League squad than he probably would in Australia.”
Arnold also revealed he will take over as Olyroos coach as part of a national restructure he says will help bring talented young players through quicker. Australia’s Under-23 men’s team has not qualified for the Olympics since Beijing 2008, adding an extra dimension to an already challenging task for Arnold.
His coaching set-up has also been confirmed, with high-performance guru Andrew Clark and analyst Doug Kors following him from Sydney FC. Arnold’s assistants will be Ante Milicic and Rene Meulensteen, an experienced Dutch coach who spent several years as Sir Alex Ferguson’s right-hand man at Manchester United. All of them will join him when he takes charge of the Olyroos.
Milicic will also coach the Young Socceroos while Trevor Morgan will lead the Under-17 Joeys.
Arnold said the change took a “lot of planning” but had the support of all ALeague coaches as well as members of Australia’s “golden generation”, whose advice convinced him it was the right move.
“It’s a job that will not distract my focus,” he said. “My full focus is on the Socceroos. But I do feel that being able to do both teams will inject a lot of new young blood, young talent into the Socceroos quicker. I do believe that is what we need right now.”
Arnold’s first task, however, is defending the Asian Cup title the Socceroos won on home soil in 2015. He intends to hold a training camp in September before a friendly match in October – most likely overseas – and then two more in November.