Shock Liverpool and Arter could go green
SWAPPING jerseys has never appealed to Harry Arter, but he might make an exception today if he gets the better of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard. Today’s FA Cup tie between Bournemouth and the seventimes winners of the competition is not just a chance to snatch some memorabilia for his wall; this is the biggest game of his career. To date, the diminutive midfielder has been largely overlooked as just another ordinary player plying his trade in England’s lower leagues. But all of that can change. For starters, there is the battle with Reds icon Gerrard, then comes the attempt to beat the Premier League side, and, perhaps most importantly, the chance to impress Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill. Though he is London-born, Arter has represented Ireland at Under 19 level as he qualifies through his Sligo grandparents and is hoping to get back into the international fold. ‘You never know when someone might be watching you, but I’m just looking to do as well as I can for Bournemouth and if something comes from that then great. Maybe playing Liverpool in a game live on TV could help,’ says Arter. Still only 24, the former Charlton player has clocked up 21 games this season and emerged as a fresh contender for the main area where Ireland are desperately short on players: centre midfield. Currently, O’Neill only has six players — Darron Gibson, James McCarthy, Glenn Whelan, David Meyler, Paul Green and Jeff Hendrick — who consistently play in the middle of the pitch, so Arter’s form will surely have caught his eye. A tenacious ball-winning player with an excellent range of short passing, he ticks a lot of boxes. And even though he got the seal of approval from Sportsmail columnist Kevin Kilbane, he hasn’t made it yet. ‘I’m not sure if the manager [O’Neill] is aware of me or not. I doubt the FAI will have looked at me when I was in League One, but now that I’m in the Championship and playing well there that might change things,’ insists Arter. ‘Last year Kevin Kilbane said some nice things about me, that the FAI should call me up, and that was a massive compliment. But it’s up to me to keep playing well for the manager to take a look because international football would be an ambition of mine.’ Before he can reach that stage, there is the matter of today’s fourth round clash with Liverpool at Dean Court. Lingering around mid-table in the Championship, Eddie Howe’s outfit — which also includes Irishmen Ian Harte, Eunan O’Kane and Donal McDermott — play slick, attacking football. Tactics and spirit will only get a team so far; it requires an element of luck as well as some inside knowledge to cause an upset. So that’s why Arter will be getting some tips from brother-in-law and Fulham midfielder Scott Parker. ‘I’m really close to Scott and he has been a huge influence on my career through the years. He is always giving me advice on certain players. ‘I know how difficult it will be against Liverpool and in a lot of ways we look up to Brendan Rodgers in how he gets his team to play. I don’t think there will be any time for any of the lads to get starstruck by [Luis] Suarez or [Steven] Gerrard. ‘The only time that I got a little starstruck was in a pre-season friendly against Real Madrid