Zakharian debuted in Spain. And he was close to the winning assist!
Anatoly Romanov August 25, 2023, 22:50 Moscow time
Real Sociedad drew with Las Palmas and Arsene spent 20 minutes on the field.
Arsen Zakharyan started his first game in Spain on the bench. Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguasil congratulated the Russian newcomer before the match against Las Palmas, but, of course, it would be naive to expect our young midfielder to immediately get a place in the fourth team base. last season.
“How do I like Zakharyan? To tell the truth, I was surprised. But not because of his level, but because of how quickly he adapted. Good players do it very quickly. He was able to adapt thanks to his knowledge of English and the help of other players, he understood everything very quickly. Arsene has great potential and talent. A 20-year-old boy with a great character who, if nothing strange happens, will become a great player. If I included him in the squad it’s because he can play,” Alguasil said the day before.
By the way, Real Sociedad started the new championship with two draws and Las Palmas with one draw and one loss. Both teams sought the first victory.
Game-wise though, Real Sociedad looked lackluster for a future Champions League group stage entrant. Sheriff’s team at the start of the match applied high pressure, but did not get any benefit from it. Las Palmas was not inferior in intense football. The ball passed from one team to another over and over again, but there was such a density in the center of the field that the players hardly found free spaces. But on the left flank of the attack, the locals lit up the brightest player in the first half, winger Ramírez.
He could score a quick goal against the Basques. The Real Sociedad goalkeeper Remiro, when taking the ball out, set up a teammate with a bad pass, and Ramírez had a chance close to one hundred percent. But Sandro forgave the Alguasil team. Soon after, Ramírez created a chance for Frenchman Luaodis, who fired from outside the box and smashed the ball off the crossbar. Then, miraculously, Real Sociedad did not concede a corner after passing a cross from the goalkeeper.
The most expensive sales of Russian players abroad.
Zakharyan’s transition is among the most important for Russians to Europe. More expensive is sold only five.
It was felt that Alguasil was upset by the team’s performance. Collective actions in the attack did not yield results. Only Real Sociedad’s main dribbler, Kubo, showed anything individually. The Japanese Messi and dealt the only blow to the guests before the break, which took place only in the 33rd minute. He defeats the opponent one by one and sends the balls over the target. No shots on goal, no shots from the penalty area for the whole time! And left midfielder Barrenechea (one of Zakharyan’s main competitors) lost 10 possessions in 45 minutes. The Basque leader Merino, who returned to the field after an injury, had many marriages, centrifugal in the 4-4-2 Scheme. One in three transmissions was inaccurate.
At the break, Barrenechea and the useless center forward Carlos Fernández were substituted. But the first one was not changed by Zakharyan, but by captain Oyarzabal, who is on his way to returning to his best form after an injury. In front, the Nigerian Sadiq, almost two meters tall, began to play. Real Sociedad improved ball control, the game with the attacking trio Kubo – Oyarzabal – Sadiq was more fun. Las Palmas still tried to keep the lines high enough, but the locals got tired and the Basques had more chances to get past the local defenders.
However, there were almost no truly dangerous moments. The attack of both teams was losing to the defense. Alguasil painfully waited for his boys to hit the first goal, and the hosts for the favor of the judge. The Las Palmas players asked for a penalty when the center forward Caba was on the grass of the Basque area after a duel with Subeldia. The Real Sociedad defender lightly held his rival, but he went down painfully and picturesquely. With 20 minutes to go, the Basques finally hit their mark and it was a great moment. Opornik Subimendi headbutted from 6 or 7 meters, straight at the goalkeeper!
After that, Zakharyan’s debut took place – the Russian came on in place of Mendes in the 75th minute and took up a position in midfield. In defense he played against one of the central defenders from Las Palmas and in one of the episodes Luaodis finished off a rebound from Arsène and hit the crossbar again. In attack, Zakharyan was filled with more movement. Interestingly, the young rookie was unexpectedly allowed to throw a standard and the Russian almost made an assist from a corner. He played the serve well, but Sho almost reached the ball. And in the end, Zakharyan did not have enough speed to rush to the goal of the fastest defender of Las Palmas.
Arsen’s statistics in the first match of the Example: eight ball touches, two accurate passes out of five (including a key one), two wins out of two and four turnovers. Regular debut. Zakharyan’s best matches with Real Sociedad are ahead, but for now the Basques with our legionnaire extended the draw streak.
