‘9/10’, ‘didn’t put a foot wrong’: Media wowed by 20-year-old Arsenal gem’s display today

Thu 8 December 2022 20:15, UK

Arsenal cruised to victory over Lyon in Thursday’s Dubai Super Cup encounter at the Al-Maktoum Stadium.

Mikel Arteta’s Gunners won 3-0 in normal time before also triumphing in the ensuing penalty shootout.

Arsenal dominated their opponents in the first half as they cruised to a 3-0 lead.

Gabriel Magalhaes opened the scoring for the Gunners on 19 minutes with a towering header.

In the 34th minute, Arsenal made it two as Fabio Vieira squared the ball along the box for Eddie Nketiah to tap home.

And five minutes later, Vieira cut in and curled a shot into the far corner of Lyon’s net.

That was it for match goals, and at the end of the game, an extra point was up for grabs in the penalty shootout.

Arsenal goalkeeper Karl Hein, who was bright in the match, was the undisputed hero as he saved four penalties.

A month on from his difficult debut against Brighton in the Carabao Cup, the 20-year-old redeemed himself.

‘Brilliant saves’

Media outlets covering the friendly loved what they saw from Hein.

“Excellent,” wrote ‘s Charles Watts, who gave Hein a 9 out of 10.

“Didn’t put a foot wrong during the 90 minutes and then saved four Lyon penalties in the shootout.”

Meanwhile, gave the Estonian an 8 out of 10 rating.

“With Aaron Ramsdale still at the World Cup, Hein got the nod, but didn’t have much to do,” they wrote.

“Clean display and three brilliant saves in the penalty shootout.”

gave Hein 6 out of 10, writing: “Had just as little to do in the second half as he did in the first.

“One nice moment of sweeping was probably his highlight in the match.”

Any player can make a mistake in a game, no matter how talented and/or experienced.

A young goalkeeper making a debut error is nothing out of the ordinary.

Hein looks like he has already bounced back, and no doubt he’ll keep improving as he gets more experience.