Barkley wants national return after Odegaard pleaded ‘stop running at me’
Luton Town v Arsenal: Pictures
Ross Barkley is hoping to remind the Premier League – and England – just how good he is. The scouser has hit the ground running at Luton Town since making his return to England’s top flight over the summer.
Barkley is “enjoying” football again at Kenilworth Road and has shown glimmers of the promise that once led to him being touted as one of the hottest young prospects in English football. Last week, he was in outstanding form as he opened up his account for the season against Arsenal with an impressive individual goal.
Granted, David Raya could have done better between the sticks but that doesn’t take anything away from Barkley’s penetrating run in the build-up. His slaloming dribbles caused the Gunners all kinds of problems during the midweek clash. So much so that Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard pleaded with the former Chelsea star to ‘stop running at him with the ball’.
“Odegaard did say, ‘You have to stop running at me with the ball!’ ” Barkley told the Times with a smile. “I’m enjoying my football. I’ve got this belief in myself now.
“I’ve found my rhythm. I feel free. I’d say mentally I am tough. I’ve been through quite a few challenges in my life.” Barkley rose through the ranks at a startling pace with his boyhood club Everton.
He quickly established himself as a regular starter under Roberto Martinez as a 19-year-old and was soon called up to the England national team. Barkley made 36 appearances for his country over a six-year stretch but he quickly fell out of favour with the Three Lions after completing a £15m move to Chelsea in January 2018.
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There, he struggled for minutes and soon found himself on the fringes of the squad. “At Everton, I played near enough every game so it was easier for me in my mind to be free,” he added. “When you then go to a club like Chelsea, there’s a lot of competition for places. At Chelsea, I had my handbrake on a bit.
“I’d play two games well, then be on the bench the next few games and [then] it’s hard to be at your best. I need to find my rhythm because I’m a big lad. I’m not a slim, lean lad who can come in and be explosive from the get-go.”
A consistent run of games is what Barkley needed after several seasons warming the Chelsea bench. A move to Nice in 2022 allowed him to get more minutes under his belt before the transfer to Luton in August. Under Rob Edwards, Barkley has been given a talismanic role and has been thriving ever since.
Arsenal’s new kit for 2023/2024 is a stylish twist on a classic as it reinvents that mid-1990s vibe. A truly modern-looking shirt with a homage to the past, the Nike kit also includes a nod to the club’s iconic Invincible’s side in the finer details while catching the eye with the lightning bolt motif
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