Arnold will go 'crazy' in search of winning formula, says Ognenovski

Graham Arnold will stop at nothing to unlock Australia’s goalscoring alchemy, and could “shake up the front third” in Tuesday night’s AFC Asian Cup warm-up against Lebanon in Sydney.

Socceroos coach Graham Arnold Source: Getty Images

That’s the view of former Socceroos and Sydney FC stopper Sasa Ognenovski, who knows all about Arnold’s remorseless problem-solving acumen from his season working under him at Allianz Stadium.

The attacking chemistry Arnold craves generated some sparks without fully igniting during Saturday’s 1-1 daw with Korea Republic in Brisbane.

But Ognenovski reckons that like a mad professor, Arnold will be pouring through his formulations and equations in search of the missing ingredients

“If I were Arnie I would start Awer Mabil and Martin Boyle - who both looked really lively and menacing off the bench against the Koreans,” Ognenovski said.

“And I might also get Tomi Juric on from the kick-off, or maybe even play Mathew Leckie as a number nine. You might even look at giving Craig Goodwin a sniff.

“Sometimes certain combinations produce that bit of chemistry, and that’s what Arnie is looking for.

“Knowing Arnie, he’s a bit crazy when it comes to stuff like that, and he will be drilling it into the players and racking his brains to find the answers.

“I can see him shaking things up a bit in the final third.

“We haven’t scored a lot of goals from open play and need to find a way to remedy that.”

With Robbie Kruse injured, the path is clear for Mabil to make his first start for his country after electrifying stints off the bench against Kuwait, where he scored on debut, and the Koreans.

Full of dash and dare, the Denmark-based flier epitomises the free-flowing adventure and imagination Arnold has scripted for his team.

“We’ve seen glimpses of Mabil and now Boyle also and the public want to see more and we need to know how good they might end up being for us,” he added.

“We know Boyle scores and creates goals for Hibernian and we’ve read about how well Mabil is doing in Denmark.

“But we want to see more of them in the flesh and learn whether they can change the dynamic in the front third.”

Ognenovski has some advice for central striker Jamie Maclaren, who flickered in Brisbane without finding his first goal in seven appearances for his country.

“With Jamie, for me, if he doesn’t score he needs to get involved more,” he said.

“I feel he needs to work on that side of the game. You won’t score in every match, but you have to be doing a lot in the build up play.

“It’s not a case of just being an out-and-out striker who gets involved when it’s goal time.

“If you are not going to score you need to create space for the teammates around you - it’s something I’d like to see Jamie develop in his game to get to the next level and regularly lead the line of Australia.

“People used to criticise Mark Viduka for not scoring enough goals for his country but he created space and did that work off the ball that we expect from our strikers.”

Arnold was full of praise for Maclaren, who made way for Boyle at Suncorp Stadium in the 71st minute, in a heavy hint that he is likely to get another bite of the cherry against Lebanon.

With his runs in behind, the thinking is that once he forges an understanding with those around him the goals will flow.

Other than perhaps giving Rhyan Grant a half at right-back, Ognenovski wouldn’t tamper with the back six, which includes deep lying midfielders Massimo Luongo, scorer of the stoppage time equaliser against Korea Republic, and Aaron Mooy.

“They need more time together to develop greater cohesion,” Ognenovski added.

“Trent Sainsbury, for instance, looked a bit rusty (in being caught out for Korea’s goal) with a ball over the top.

“He’s not being playing much at club level and just needs to get some rhythm into his game.

“He can again be the player we know he can be and was one of our best during the last Asian Cup campaign.

“I know Arnie is a results-driven coach but the lessons he can learn on Tuesday in my opinion will be more valuable than the outcome of the match.

“It looks to me like the boys have bought into what Arnie is trying to do. There’s a real positive mindset around the team.

“Hopefully come the pointy end of the Asian Cup all that positivity drags them over the line.

“I like the way he structures his teams. Every player knows their role and what’s expected of them.”

With Arnold to bestow the legendary Tim Cahill a final international career curtain call at some stage of the match, Ognenovski noted: “It’s always nice to give our heroes a good send-off and Tim Cahill is deserving of that.

“He’s brought joy to millions of fans across the country ... so why not give him a bit of a farewell just to say thank you. Not everyone gets it, but not everyone wants it. I think it’s a nice gesture.”