Christian Atsu makes his mark

by Graeme Jackson

Monday Aug 26, 2019. 13:16

Ghanaian winger Christian Atsu was the major African star to make his mark in the Premier League on Sunday, helping Newcastle United secure a surprise 1-0 away win over Tottenham Hotspur.

The Black Stars wide man came off the bench in the 17th minute to replace the injured Allan Saint-Maximine and had a huge effect on the game, providing the assist for Brazilian striker Joelinton, who netted the only goal of the game in North London.

“The fans love this club, and they want the best for the club,” said Atsu in a post-match interview. “So whenever things are going wrong they have to be upset but a lot of people never expected us to beat Tottenham.

“They will say our best should have been a draw but this is what Newcastle is made of and this is what the fans are made of, to support this club and love the club.”

The other matches on Sunday saw Riyad Mahrez come off the bench in Manchester City’s 3-1 win at Bournemouth, while no Africans featured in the 1-1 draw between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley.

Looking ahead, the next round of Premier League matches opens with Southampton hosting Manchester United early on Saturday afternoon and Malian winger Moussa Djenepo will look to continue his strong start to life at St. Mary’s Stadium.

Atsu’s Newcastle will chase a second straight win when they host bottom-of-the-log Watford in the pick of afternoon matches, while Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will hope to continue their form away to Burnley in the late kick-off.

Sunday’s feature game is the North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, with the former hoping to see more goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameayang, while Alex Iwobi will look to inspire Everton to a home win over Wolves.