For much of Wednesday night, Alphonse Areola found himself closer to the centre circle than his own penalty area.
The France international, recently signed on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, watched on mainly as a spectator while his new club Fulham dictated proceedings against League One Ipswich Town. He was left to keep himself focused with a series of stretches, lunges and a few hops and jumps. The temperature may have hit 23-degrees during the day, but judging from a ghastly breeze imperilling the gantry, it was not a warm night for those with little to do.
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But with Fulham not quite able to kill off the game, there was always the risk of a late blow — a sucker-punch that would take the game to an unwanted penalty shootout. It almost happened.
A loose header into midfield sprung Gwion Edwards into life in stoppage time. His rapid turn of pace easily pulled him clear of substitute Joe Bryan, who was caught in transition. Suddenly, Areola had something to do.
“It’s like this, you have to be focused, make the right decisions,” Areola told The Athletic after the game. “It’s good to start like this, get more minutes and become confident with the team. I’m very happy!”
Ipswich’s first shot on target was swallowed by Areola’s 6ft 5in frame. As debuts go, this one fits the uneventful but solid category, but there were to be no late banana skins.
Areola, who was on the bench for the opening day defeat by Arsenal with Marek Rodak retaining his place from last season, is hoping this will be the first of many more appearances this season, having arrived in London eager for game time following a season spent in reserve in Spain.
“It’s a very important year for me,” he says. “It was important to come to a club that gives me this opportunity to play because last season I had a great experience with Real Madrid, but the competition was missing and I need to have that. The training was great there but you need the competition of matches.”
Areola is a World Cup winner with France, a product of the country’s famed Clairefontaine academy and a player who has amassed more than 100 appearances for last year’s Champions League finalists. Switching from the Parc des Princes, as well as from the Bernabeu where he made nine appearances on loan last year, to Craven Cottage seems an unusual step. But he had no reservations about coming to England, despite the thrill of playing for the French champions.
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“It was a dream come true,” he reflects of his time at PSG. “It was the club of my childhood, but I was very happy to come here. The decision was clear because (Keylor) Navas is playing there — I didn’t want to sit on the bench another year.
“I have played in Spain and France now. It’s my first experience here In England and I hope to have a good season for me and the team.”
Areola impressed new manager Scott Parker with his communication. His voice echoed around the empty terraces of Portman Road, constantly calling to debutant full-backs Kenny Tete and Antonee Robinson as well as stand-in centre-half pairing Denis Odoi and Maxime Le Marchand.
“I thought the debutants did very well,” Parker told The Athletic. “The keeper, I know he didn’t have a lot to do but he was a good voice and a good presence. Both full-backs I thought were outstanding, supplied a good attacking threat with a lot of speed, supplied a lot of crosses into the box. Our first goal came from that. And then obviously (Mario) Lemina and (Frank) Anguissa showed their quality. I was very pleased.”
It was a pleasing night all round for the Fulham manager, one he described as “ticking a lot of boxes”. His new full-backs — £1.9 million signing Robinson on the left and £3 million recruit Tete on the right — proved to be great outlets for Fulham and ultimately were among the visitors’ most threatening players. Robinson twice furrowed into opposition territory to deliver brilliant crosses that somehow evaded everybody, while Tete helped win the tie with a lovely floated cross that put the ball on a plate for Aleksandar Mitrovic to score. He should have had a second assist later in the game with another well-floated delivery, and his service led to a booming “well done, Kenny” from stand-in captain Mitrovic as he left the field deep in the second half.
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“I thought he was brilliant,” said Parker. “Tete has not been in the building too long, he’s probably had about four training sessions, so he showed a real quality about him. Really, really pleased.”
Parker’s debutants were among the main positives to take for the Fulham manager, who made nine changes from the defeat by Arsenal. Mitrovic was handed his first start of the campaign and netted his first goal of the season too — his 50th in Fulham colours, secured on his 26th birthday. In defence, Le Marchand showed an extraordinary range of passing, and in midfield, Lemina made his first appearance after arriving on loan from Southampton.
He managed an hour in a deeper midfield role, picking the ball up from deep before moving it into the final third. Although there were one or two rusty touches, he looked a dynamic presence alongside Anguissa, who once again illustrated why he was so highly valued on loan at Villarreal last year. There has been a lot of speculation about Anguissa’s future, but Parker is determined to keep hold of him.
“He is a player that I love, a player that I spent a lot of time with when I first come in,” said Parker. “He had his struggles early on when he first came in. But Frank knows exactly what I think of him, he’s a player that I’m looking at to be a major part of what we’re going to try and do this year.
“I hope that is still the case when the window shuts. You never know do you? Because when a window is open, you don’t know what can happen and I’m not just talking about Frank, I’m talking about everyone. But hopefully, he’ll be part of it.
“The club want him to stay. Frank has been very, very professional. He has a sole focus, which is getting as fit as he can and getting in this team. All the signs are very good.”
The players will undertake recovery sessions on Thursday and Parker will assess their readiness for Saturday’s important clash with Leeds United. One player who is determined to play is Areola, who has settled quickly into life in London.
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“It’s been good, we have a good team, I’ve felt a great atmosphere,” says Areola. “I came to London one month ago, I have the house here for a year. My agent told me that there was an interest in me and they want you to come to play. It’s Fulham, it’s in London, so, I think it helps. It was a very good decision for my family.
“The target is the same as the club. To give all the best every game, to put the club where it should be, to stay in the Premier League. We’ll give everything this season to keep this club in the Premier League.”
(Top photo: Will Oliver/PA Images via Getty Images)
