Former Premier League star Micah Richards has been speaking on Match of the Day to discuss the display of Newcastle United defender Emil Krafth in their defeat at the weekend.
The Swedish defender started the game on Saturday and lasted the full 90 minutes in north London, which saw the Magpies remain rock-bottom of the league table.
Is Krafth good enough for NUFC?
Yes
No
Krafth was only able to make one tackle on Saturday against Arsenal, and to rub salt in the wounds, the 27-year-old was shown a yellow card shortly after the break (via WhoScored).
Since joining the Toon in 2019 from Ligue 1 side Amiens, Krafth has gone on to make 47 appearances for the Magpies, but has only been able to provide one goal and two assists in that time (via Transfermarkt).
Eddie Howe took charge of his first game from the dugout as the Newcastle manager against Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, but Richards was not impressed with the display from his right-back at the Emirates Stadium when hailing Arsenal’s Nuno Tavares.
“What I liked about him is he just didn’t stay. Every opportunity he went forward, and he went forward with quality. You know, sometimes when you’re a full-back in there, his first instinct – can I get forward? I mean, Krafth had an absolute nightmare against him today.”
TIF Thoughts on Krafth under Howe…
We are really interested to see whether the game against the Gunners will have an effect on Krafth’s spot in Eddie Howe’s starting XI going forward.
The Swedish defender has not played an awful lot of football this season, but was brought into the starting XI after the draw against Brentford, which saw the Toon concede three times (via Transfermarkt).
Krafth’s main rival for a spot in Howe’s XI seems to be Jacob Murphy, who has also played in the right wing-back position, which has seen him score once and provide one assist this season while also struggling for consistent game time.
Although Krafth may not have impressed Richards on the weekend, Howe should be hoping Murphy and Krafth can bring the best out of each other by battling for the spot.
In other news: ‘A name was put to me’ – Sky Sports man drops PIF claim on NUFC’s director of football hunt