He may be 30 years old, but Goran Pandev still possesses enough quality in his boots to turn a game around for Napoli.
Against Arsenal tonight, with Marek Hamsik ruled out through injury, and Jose Callejon’s goals drying up in recent weeks (the Spaniard has only scored once in his last six outings), the veteran Macedonian is likely to be tasked with inspiring his team towards victory.
With three goals and an assist in his last two games for Napoli, he arrives in excellent form. talkSPORT takes a look at the unorthodox striker.
A treble winner with Jose Mourinho’s Inter in 2009/10, Pandev operated as a utility player for the Nerrazurri in a job with little glamour but a high reward, scoring few goals but putting in relentless shifts in a number of forward positions.
Even in his youth, the Macedonian was a particularly prolific goal-scorer, with his strongest season the 2007/08 campaign with Lazio when he scored 19 goals in all competitions, but what he lacks in numbers he makes up for in class, with an excellent first touch, eye for a pass, and the confidence to lift a team on his shoulders, as he has done so often with his nation.
With Macedonia the forward's true range of talents really shines, and he currently holds their all-time goals record with 26. Along with finishing chances for them he is also creates goals, operating as their main playmaker, demanding the ball constantly and using his excellent link-up play to bring team mates into the game.
At international level he has scored against some of the world’s finest sides, hitting a brace against Spain and scoring on two occasions against the Netherlands, and has consistently been Macedonia's biggest threat for over a decade now.
If Pandev can conjure up some of the magic he produces for his country tonight for his club, then Arsenal could be made to suffer. In recent weeks he has certainly been in that kind of form.
On December 2 he ended a seven-game barren streak by netting in a tough away clash against former club Lazio, first by showing sharp instincts to score Napoli’s second goal of the game with a tidy finish in the box, then, by turning playmaker and threading an excellent ball through to Gonzalo Higuain for the third.
Pandev then continued in that vein last weekend, scoring the opener against Udinese from a corner, before adding his side’s second after a neat turn in the box. Arsenal have arrived in Naples just as he is hitting his stride.
Napoli may be depleted tonight, and the odds may be against Rafael Benitez and co, but when Goran Pandev produces one of his better displays he is a formidable opponent. Not only a strong finisher on his day, the Macedonian can also produce a piece of brilliance to set-up his team mates, so Arsenal will need to be doubly careful around the forward. He isn't the quickest, nor the youngest, but Pandev shouldn't be taken lightly.
Arsenal fans, what do you expect the score to be tonight? Let us know below...
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