STORY OF THE SEASON
Arzani had to bide his time in 2017/18; it wasn’t until round 11 that he was given his first action of the season, off the bench in the 3-1 loss to Sydney FC.
But from the moment he came on and changed the round 13 game against Wellington two days after his 19th birthday, the exciting young attacker has thrust himself front and centre of the football public’s consciousness.
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He’s started every game since and has quickly become a favourite with City’s supporters, creating and scoring goals and giving opposition defenders nightmares with his quick feet and dazzling speed.
The calls have even come for the former age-group international to be immediately handed a full Caltex Socceroos call-up and his rare talent looks set to propel him to the very top of our game.
'We can't stop talking about him … it's pretty hard to ignore'
Hiddink picked Milligan as his 2006 wildcard for the future.
Will van Marwijk leave a similar gift behind for the Socceroos with Daniel Arzani? https://t.co/QUWKPotOUM pic.twitter.com/9U7LDG1pqQ
— FOX Sports Football (@FOXFOOTBALL) April 1, 2018
BY THE NUMBERS
Arzani leads the Hyundai A-League in successful dribbles, with his 89 runs with ball at feet 22 more than any other player in the competition and more than three times as many as any of his team-mates.
He also provided more assists than any other under-23 player in the Hyundai A-League regular season.
Arzani created 23 chances for his team-mates in 2017/18 and passed at 78% accuracy, with 75% of his passes in the opposition half finding a team-mate.
WHY HE SHOULD WIN
Arzani is the most exciting Australian attacker to emerge in the Hyundai A-League for quite some time.
He has quickly gone from being a squad player at Melbourne City to one of the first names Warren Joyce writes down in the starting side each week.
Higher honours will certainly follow and it seems inevitable a clutch of overseas clubs will soon be clamouring for the signature of this talented teen.