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Jamie Carragher has heaped praise on Newcastle United midfielder Joelinton following his side's victory over Arsenal on Monday, May 16.
The Magpies moved up to 12th in the Premier League table and made it nine wins from their previous 10 top-flight games at St. James' Park. A Ben White own-goal and a Bruno Guimaraes strike gifted the home side all three points.
Following a victory which in all likelihood ended the Gunners' Champions League hopes, Carragher described Joelinton as a 'revelation' after he started playing as a central midfielder.
The 25-year-old became the Toon Army's record signing in 2019 when he moved to Tyneside from Hoffenheim for £40 million. However, he struggled upon his arrival when he played in a number of forward roles.
The Brazilian has flourished since Eddie Howe moved him into midfield and even picked up the club's 'Player of the Year' award 24 hours prior to the Arsenal clash.
Carragher stated on Sky Sports (as quoted by Newcastle World):
“He’s (Joelinton) been a revelation.”
“Putting Joelinton into midfielder, who would have thought that? This is a guy that was written off as a flop, a £40million striker that never scored a goal. He’s now gone into midfield and he looks a real player."
He continued:
“In the summer, Newcastle are going to buy and spend, maybe bring players in, but you still think he would be at the heartbeat of this team.
“Credit to him, but credit to Eddie Howe because it’s not easy turning a striker into a midfield player.”
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe praises players for performance against Arsenal
The Toon Army were in deep relegation danger at the start of the year following a poor start to Howe's reign. The lowest point came in the form of a 1-0 home defeat to League 1 side Cambridge United in the FA Cup third round.
It has been a remarkable turnaround for Newcastle ever since. They still have an outside chance of finishing in the top 10 going into the final game of the season.
Following their deserved victory over the Gunners, Howe stated (as per Chronicle Live):
“It was a brilliant all-round performance. We played with intensity and never let up. We approached the game in a brilliant manner and we did the Premier League proud tonight."
"The one thing missing from us was that we hadn't beaten a top-six team - and we deservedly beat them."
He elaborated on today's game:
"We wanted to press Arsenal and not let them settle into a rhythm but also for the first time in recent performances we saw a team that could have the ball comfortably and be creative. Arsenal competed well and fought well but they left spaces for us and we exploited them.”
