Arter knows the art of staying up
CARDIFF’S final bit of summer business might prove to be their best.
Bluebirds manager Neil Warnock adopted a different approach to his counterparts at Wolves and Fulham in building a squad for Premier League survival.
While they have spent big on players with top-level experience, Warnock stuck largely to what he knew by doing his summer spending in the Championship.
The one exception was Harry Arter, whose loan from Bournemouth was confirmed late on deadline day. He was perhaps
CARDIFF NEWCASTLE
fortunate to finish his debut after a wild hack on Joselu, but Warnock will not have minded a bit of extra bite and tenacity in his midfield.
His quality on the ball was also there for all to see against 10-man Newcastle. But Arter’s know-how of what it takes to survive in the top flight against the odds will be just as useful.
He helped Bournemouth win promotion and then consolidate in the Premier League before being squeezed out last season.
Cardiff might have won after playing against 10 men for 30 minutes following Isaac Hayden’s dismissal but equally could have lost if Neil Etheridge had not saved Kenedy’s stoppagetime penalty.
Arter said: “For newly promoted sides that first point is always most difficult. The fashion we got it in makes it even better – it felt like three purely because of the circumstances.
“There’s no point beating around the bush, our only aim this season is to stay up and hopefully it will be a valuable point.”
Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez is unfazed by his side’s slow start, having failed to win one of their first two games for the sixth season running.
Benitez said: “We lost the first two games in the Championship [two years ago] and we won the title. It is important to stay focused.”