Melbourne Victory captain's big praise for Socceroos winger

Melbourne Victory captain Roderick Miranda labelled team-mate Daniel Arzani as the “most gifted Australian player I have seen” in the Isuzu UTE A-League.

Miranda heaped praise on Arzani heading into Saturday’s blockbuster Semi-Final first leg away to premiers Auckland FC at Go Media Stadium.

Arzani has been in red-hot form for Victory, helping the 2023-24 Grand Finalists upstage Western Sydney Wanderers in the Elimination Final.

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The Socceroos winger has been imperious since Australia head coach Tony Popovic laid down the gauntlet towards the backend of last year and the 26-year-old has not looked back since, producing a man-of-the-match performance against the Wanderers last week.

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“Danny, since he got selected for the Socceroos, something changed,” Miranda told reporters.

“I don’t know if it was any conversation he had with Popa, that he came with a different, not mentality, but a different behaviour and the games speak for itself.

“Performance wise, it’s coming through the roof. I think he’s going getting involved in balls, assists or scoring that before maybe he was still playing good, but maybe not enough numbers for the quality he has.

“Now he’s just showing what I think. Since day one, when I met him, I told him and I’ll say again, I think he’s the most gifted Australian player I have seen in the league.

“He’s showing that and every opponent, they are fearing him. It’s good for us. It’s a player we always give the ball to breathe a little bit, gives us a lot of things.

“I think he’s being the man of the moment. So hopefully he can continue his form against Auckland.”

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