Virtanen driving Lichties forward in style as Finn helps swat Wasps aside

ARBROATH 2 ALLOA ATHLETIC 1

Miko Virtanen is as assured off the park as he is on it, displaying the confidence and maturity he’ll need to fulfil his longterm ambitions of forcing his way into the Aberdeen first team and playing for Finland.

The Finland Under-21 star has been a revelation for Arbroath since joining them on loan from Dons in August.

He was instrumental in their 2-1 win over Alloa Athletic on Saturday and believes he can further his ambitions of playing at the highest level by seeing out the season at Arbroath.

“I think I’m on loan here until the end of the season but even if that’s not the case, that’s what I’d like it to be,” said Virtanen.

“If I have to extend it in January then I want to do that to see out the season at Arbroath. I’m loving it here.

“I love playing in front of our fans, getting points on the table and hopefully staying up.

“My long-term goal is to break into the Aberdeen team but I’m not looking too far ahead. It’s fantastic for me to get experience of playing in the first team and for Finland Under-21s and I want to keep enjoying that.

“I train twice a week with Arbroath and the rest of the week at Aberdeen. Our new training ground at Aberdeen will give the club a massive lift.

“It’s great to have the chance to train there but my only focus right now is making sure I’m in perfect shape to play for Arbroath every week.”

Virtanen has only taken a matter of weeks to settle into life at the part-time Angus side and is as assured off the park as he is on it.

His killer pass to Bobby Linn started the move that led to Arbroath’s second goal on Saturday with Linn squaring to Luke Donnelly who blasted home.

Earlier, Donnelly had been on hand to assist Linn as his superbly-weighted through ball was controlled by Linn who fired in off Alloa keeper Jamie MacDonald.

Alloa enjoyed long spells of possession and merited a goal as Alan Trouten broke clear to drill home and make it 2-1.

But Arbroath held on to make it three wins out of four and cement their spot in fifth place.

Virtanen added: “We’re now in fifth and seven points clear and this result was massive for us.

“We want to be as high up the table as we can be but it’s realistic for us as a parttime club to have the target to stay up.”

Arbroath manager Dick Campbell was full of praise for his side’s start to the season that has seen them defy the odds to challenge at the top end of the league table.

And he believes Saturday’s win was characterised by some brilliant individual performances, including that of talisman Linn.

“Everyone loves Bobby Linn because of the way he plays football,” said Campbell.

“He’s also a very likeable guy and it’s a pleasure to have him in my team.

“I thought he was absolutely sensational for us against Alloa. He was very hard to defend against but people forget that he’s 34.

“He pours so much into every game and I have to take him off for a rest sometimes.

“But that’s the kind of attitude I’ve got from my players here. They are working really hard and getting some great results.

“It’s not quite perfect. We are still having some strange performances that I’d like to get to the bottom of but overall I’ve got to be delighted with the way we have started the season.”

Miko Virtanen has played a key role for the Lichties so far.