Islam Slimani may have only played just over 45 minutes of football in a black and white shirt, but Newcastle fans liked what they saw from his half-an-hour cameo against Arsenal on Sunday – and rightly so!
The Algerian was ineligible against Leicester last weekend, but returned to the matchday squad to face Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal.
He had to settle for a place on the bench, but came on for Dwight Gayle in the 63rd minute and changed the game, with his superb header across the box setting up Matt Ritchie’s winner.
Here’s what NUFC fans had to say about his performance:
@Lee18_92Johnson – “It’s a shame that we’ll only get to possibly watch Islam Slimani for 5 games……you can tell he’s on another level to what we have upfront in the limited minutes we’ve seen”
@JayHolz1 – “Slimani looked like a beast earlier.. Gayle works his socks off but we looked a different team with a genuinely international level striker.”
@Blackwhitebarmy – “Really impressed by Slimani today. He’s quicker than most give him credit for & he busts a gut to close down and get into good positions in the box. A proper striker and one I always believed #NUFC fans would warm to. Just hope he gets enough chances to prove his worth!”
@lovetheturret – “In amongst all this mayhem I’ve been very very impressed by Islam Slimani’s 2 cameos for #nufc. Caused absolute f*****g chaos today.”
@Blackwhitebarmy – “He looks a player that could be PERFECT in Rafa’s system. A big unit capable of holding the ball up & putting in a shift as a lone striker, but also able to run the channels & make bursts to get in behind. Pace, power, passion & a monster from crosses (which we haven’t seen yet).”
@gallowgate13 – “He was excellent and is positionally astute.his headed assist had immense power generated himself. id love to see him get on the end of a ball whipped in by ritchie yedlin or jonjo.bullet header no doubt.”
@DoolanPd – “Slimani looked really good today. Hope he gets a start and manages to score for us next game. More mobile than I’d imagined”
@newyorkmagpie – “Love Slimani. Would not be upset if we signed him permanently”.
@NUFC360 – “Slimani definitely adds another dimension for us!.”
@GeordieLad10 – “Thought Slimani made a big impact after coming on winning free-kicks making Arsenal’s defenders hurry themselves setting up the 2nd goal aswell.”
Around 45 minutes of football for Slimani for #NUFC in two games and he has been involved in both winning goals in both games. Worth the wait.
— Andy Armstrong (@ArmstrongAndy93) April 15, 2018
