Ayari: I believe I took my chance

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Swedish midfielder did well after coming on as a substitute in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal.

2024-09-02T06:00+01:00

Yasin Ayari’s performance in Albion’s 1-1 draw at Arsenal proved his quality but also the benefit of being well-prepared for any opportunity that comes along.

The Sweden midfielder took the field as a substitute for the injured James Milner after only 17 minutes, giving him his longest Premier League appearance so far. He formed an effective partnership with fellow 20-year-old Carlos Baleba, and could even have hit the winner only to see his shot blocked by the legs of David Raya.

“I should score,” Yasin said after the game. “If I see him [Raya], that he's on the left side, I'll just put it on the right. But in those moments everything goes so quickly and I thought he was running to the first post, so I thought I would put it on the second.

“It was fun. I really enjoyed it. I came off the bench earlier, but I'm ready, I'm always ready, I train hard every day to be ready for these chances and I think I took it.

“Every training session I train like I'm going to start. Every time when I'm on the bench I try to see the opponent, how they play, the guy I'm playing against, how he's moving. I prepare every time the day before, look at some videos and everything. I'm always prepared.”

Arsenal v Brighton & Hove Albion 31AUG24 PH.153

Yasin arrived from AIK Solna in January 2023, made his debut at home to Grimsby Town in the FA Cup and had his first Premier League start in the final game of the season, playing the first half of a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa. He spent last season on loan at Coventry City and then Blackburn Rovers, making 13 appearances for each club.

The loan experience was a valuable one, he says. “Maybe it wasn't the best loan spell if you talk about the performance on the pitch but I think I've developed so much outside the pitch, my mentality and how it is to live outside of Brighton, outside of my family and everything. Now when I came back I feel more prepared, I feel like a man, I feel like I'm ready now to take the next step.”

New head coach Fabian Hurzeler seems to agree, involving Yasin in all the fixtures so far, and it was his “pre-assist” pass to Simon Adingra that led to Joao Pedro’s late winner at home to Manchester United.

“He just believes in me, he thinks I'm doing a good job and I just have to keep going. We have a lot of good players in the squad but when you get a chance you have to prove that you want to play.

“I will do my thing, I will work as hard as possible. When I get my chances like today, I will try to show that I want to play and then we'll see how far it goes. I always think that if I get the chance, if I get the opportunity, I will show that I'm a good player because I believe in myself. Now I'm getting the chances when people are not here and I think I'm taking them.”

Arsenal v Brighton & Hove Albion 31AUG24 PH.057

Roberto de Zerbi was in charge when Yasin first arrived in Sussex but he found Fabian Hurzeler as head coach when he returned from loan. What was different? “More intensity. You know the German coaches, how they are with the pressing and counter-pressing. I think when he came in with this, everyone picked it up quickly and I think you can see it on the pitch also. It's a good thing he came in.

“He said the clear target is to challenge the establishment. We've played now against United, we won against them, we played today against Arsenal, we drew. I think we just have to keep going. We don't think about anything else than us and take one game at a time and one training at a time just to improve every day.”

And the result at the Emirates? “Of course it's always a little bit disappointing when they have a red card [and don't win]. But like I said, we are still unbeaten and we're playing against a really good team today and I think we should win this game. But a draw is not bad at all.”