THE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT? 3 POINTS!
Wenger, 68 today, & Holgate, 21 today, both want Goodison victory to be a piece of cake MASON HOLGATE has a message for under-fire Everton boss Ronald Koeman in his hour of need – you can count on us kids.
Defender Holgate turns 21 today and is now classed in the ‘senior’ ranks along with Tom Davies, 19, Ademola Lookman, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, both 20, and Brendan Galloway, 21.
But Holgate and Co want Koeman to resist the temptation of axing youth with a battle cry that they will stand up and be counted.
And what better way to show that courage, commitment and class than by beating Arsenal at Goodison to put Holgate in party mood? A 21-gun salute, in fact, to take the pressure off Koeman and his squad as they try to turn around what has been a dreadful start to their Premier League and Europa League campaigns.
So Holgate is on a double mission today – to blow both the candles and opposition away.
He said: “Myself and the rest of the young lads know that there are going to be lots of ups, lots of downs. Last year for me and Tom Davies there were a lot of highs.
“We did well as a team but this year it’s testing us as characters. We have got to show that we will be standing up and being counted when things aren’t going well.
“We have not done quite what people have expected of us but we have given everything we can. It’s not, though, what people have quite wanted us to do.
“We have not got the results yet but it’s not through lack of effort. Hopefully things will turn around and we will start climbing the table.”
That is why Holgate prays that the kids on the block keep their places to prove their point. He added: “For me personally – and I think the other lads believe this as well – we don’t want to be judged on, ‘Oh, they’re young’.
“If we’re in the team we want to show why we are in the team. It’s nothing to do with age. It doesn’t matter as to how old we are. We’re in there because we believe we can do a job.
“Age doesn’t matter to us. We don’t want to be seen as young lads. We want to be seen as good players no matter what our age. We don’t want to be seen as being carried either.
“We want to be right in the front with all the rest of the lads. A lot of managers would drop us and go for experience but this manager has stuck with us and we want to show him that age doesn’t affect our minds or the way we play.
“If we’re in the team it’s because we think we are good enough to play.
“We are all confident enough to show we’re just like any other player no matter the age.”
Holgate feels he’s “getting old” now he has reached 21 and would love to celebrate with a night out with his parents after hopefully picking up three points against the Gunners.
He said: “It depends how the game goes if I’m doing anything special. Hopefully it will be a good birthday. Get three points and then I will go out for a family meal with my mum and dad.
“If not I will stay in. It’s just another number to me. But we will just go in with a gameplan against Arsenal and worry about ourselves. We will just have to all be switched on and ready for it.”
Everton v Arsenal, Today, 1.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event