Wenger told me that I was getting my league debut.. then a tackle in training hours later ended my Arsenal career
MIDFIELDER ISAAC HAYDEN ON HIS GUNNERS NIGHTMARE AND
IT WAS a sliding-doors moment that Isaac Hayden will never forget.
The date was Friday, October 17, 2014, and Arsene Wenger had just told his teenage prospect that he would make his first Premier League start for Arsenal against Hull the following day. It was the chance that he had always dreamed of. However, that dream was shattered by a brutal tackle from Mathieu Flamini in training later that same morning. “He didn’t mean to do the injury,” said Hayden. “But it was definitely a case of a young pro versus an experienced pro and him saying: ‘Look, I’m still here. This is my position and if you want to take it, you’re going to have to earn it, fight for it.’ Which I was more than happy to do. But with that injury it was impossible. The Arsenal window had slammed shut because Francis Coquelin came back and formed that amazing partnership with Santi Cazorla. And with Ramsey, Wilshere and the rest, I knew I had no chance.”
And salt is rubbed into Hayden’s wounds when he watches the progress of Gunners full-back Hector Bellerin.
“We were both at exactly the same stage at Arsenal,” he said.
“I remember when I signed my boot contract, the brand wanted me or Hector because we were the most likely of the young players to break through.
“In the end they took both of us but at the time I knew they were thinking ‘which of them is the more likely?’ And they were pushing for me a bit more.”
Newcastle midfielder Hayden returns to Arsenal today having grown from the whole experience.
He proved himself to be a fighter from that heartbreaking moment, even if it signalled the end of the road at a club he joined at 13. The ankle injury turned into a nightmare which lasted nearly 10 months.
It was initially overlooked on an MRI scan but picked up in a CT scan after it swelled like a balloon after 60 minutes of a comeback in an Under-23s game.
“When the physio told me I’d be out for five months I couldn’t even talk. I just put the phone down and sat there in silence. I didn’t feel angry at all. I was just numb.”
What made things even worse was, while the Chelmsford-born defensive midfielder was recovering, Coquelin seized the chance which was supposed to be his, establishing himself as Arsenal’s anchorman.
Hayden (left) is typically philosophical as he recalls the hardest time of his career which left him resigned to the fact he would have to leave Arsenal to progress. The ex-England U-21 midfielder joined Hull on loan in the summer of 2015 and Hull’s school of hard knocks got him ready for the Championship when Newcastle came in for him last year.
Fulham was looking the most likely destination for Hayden when Newcastle’s managing director Lee Charnley rang his agent about another player. He was off limits but he suggested Hayden as an alternative.
A day later there was an 8am phone call that is still imprinted on his brain, with Charnley calling back to say Rafa Benitez had watched 12 videos overnight and wanted
to sign him. Just like that.
Benitez is known as a tactician with an incredible eye for detail. What is less known is that he has actually written an analysis of the differences in playing central midfield in five different countries (England, Argentina, Germany, Italy and Spain).
If there was the perfect next manager for Hayden then it was Benitez. But there was no let-up from the Spanish gaffer’s cajoling even away from the training ground because when Hayden first moved to Newcastle they ended up living in the same apartment block.
“I’ve moved now,” laughs Hayden. “He used to turn up and sometimes it was a little bit awkward!
“There was a restaurant round the corner where I’d get my dinner from the day before a game.
“They’d do lovely chicken and pasta dishes, I’d go and collect it and he’d come home from training at the same time as I’d come back with my food.
“There was a communal car park and a lift would go up to the apartments. He used to catch me as I’d come out of the car. One time I was sitting in the car, waiting for him to go up in the lift but he was waiting by the door of his car for me. He knows I’m there and he’s ready to pounce on me: ‘Isaac!’
“I wanted to eat my food, it was getting cold, and he’d just want to talk football for half an hour!”
Those chats have formed a strong bond and a common goal of ensuring Newcastle re-establish themselves as a force in the Premier League.
“The target has to be survival,” said Hayden. “At Newcastle it’s so intense. If you’re doing well, it’s the best place in the world to be. If you’re not doing well then it’s difficult.
“We’re not that far behind Arsenal in terms of size of club because the fans make it a big club but right now the stature isn’t what it used to be.
“But we’ll get it back because it’s a religion for our fans. It’s crazy and an honour at the same time really.”