Vela's goal salvaged a point
Carlos Vela, an enigma for some years now, may be about to prove his worth in a relegation battle. The striker’s predatory finish in the Black Country derby salvaged a 1-1 draw for West Bromwich Albion in Roy Hodgson’s first game in charge, and Vela will now be hoping to finally get the chance to start playing regular football in the Premier League.
Despite his young age – he’s 21 for another ten days – it seems like the Mexican has been on the precipice of the Arsenal first team for a while, and much like any number of the youngsters Monsieur Wenger drafts into the first team, a lot has been expected of him.
Vela has caught the eye most in the League Cup, with a hat-trick against Sheffield United in 2008 and a majestic chip against Wigan in another round among his best moments for Arsenal.
But in the league, Vela has been largely ineffectual, scoring just three goals in two and a half years. Many of his appearances have, of course, been from the bench, and a young player’s game quickly becomes rushed and less pragmatic if he is deprived of regular chances to impress. But the standards demanded of him at a side competing on four fronts is necessarily high, and without the physical attributes of the much-malilgned Nicklas Bendtner to back his obvious skill up, Vela has struggled to impose himself on games. A loan spell was logical for the player and the club, and Roy Hodgson’s new side will be looking for Vela to get into his rhythm quickly enough to help them away from the relegation zone.
After failing to have an impact on either of his two previous Baggies appearances, Vela’s goal on Sunday was a perfect demonstration of the goalscoring qualities required of him. At first it looked like a scrappy, bundled finish, but if you watch it again, you can see the difficult improvisation he had to pull off to make the equaliser possible. It wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as some of his League Cup efforts, but come the end of the season the goal, as well as the extra minutes of competitive football, could prove to be far more valuable.
