After serving his three-game ban, Melbourne City’s playmaker Tolgay Arslan has a major task ahead of him.
On Friday night, Tolgay Arslan will make a much-needed comeback for Melbourne City. If his struggling club is to compete for the A-League title this season, the star playmaker’s inventiveness will be crucial.
Following his dismissal and subsequent suspension for dissent during Melbourne’s 4-2 loss to Perth Glory on February 2, Arslan has been absent from City’s last three games.
Arslan’s return to action has been desperately needed by City, who has been furious in private over the length of the German import’s ban and wants to inspire a club that has only won once in its last eight games.
Prior to his team’s matchup with Macarthur FC at Campbelltown Stadium, City coach Aurelio Vidmar stated, “Everyone knows what he can give the team, especially going forward, so we’re looking forward to having him back.”
“He has put in a tremendous amount of extra work. He will continue for as long as he can because we’ve filled him up very nicely over the past few weeks.”
Arslan’s return is something City is hoping would assist star striker Jamie Maclaren break through with his goal drought.
The all-time top scorer in the competition is experiencing the worst scoring drought of his A-League career after failing to score in eight straight games for City.
Maclaren’s team’s decline to seventh place on the ladder is partly attributable to his dry spell.
For us, this game is undoubtedly important, according to Vidmar.
“With only nine games remaining, it is imperative that we get on our skates right away.”
With one more game played, Macarthur, in fourth position, leads City by six points.
Vidmar was cautious due to the danger that the Bulls’ dynamic duo of Ulises Davila and Valere Germain presented.
“Germain is unquestionably underestimated. “… in those kinds of locations where they prefer to float and get a little bit harder to label, they (Germain and Davila) are extremely similar,” the man stated.
“They really start to smell where the goal is and they’re running towards the goal once that ball gets forward.”
