Juric admits Southampton will miss suspended midfielder vs Brentford
MANAGER Ivan Juric confessed Saints will feel the absence of suspended midfielder Mateus Fernandes when they face Brentford on Saturday.
Fernandes, 20, will miss Southampton’s first game of 2025 due to serving a one-match ban having picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Crystal Palace last weekend.
The Portuguese youth international saw yellow after clashing in the air with Tyrick Mitchell when competing for a header.
Fellow midfielders Flynn Downes and Will Smallbone are doubts for the game against Brentford, with both players set for a fitness test on Friday.
Asked by the Daily Echo how big of a miss Fernandes will be against Brentford, Juric explained: “He’s another youngster with great potential.
“I like him a lot. He can do everything, defend, run, he’s strong, he’s fast and he has very good technique. We will miss him.
“He’s an incredibly clever guy and he understands immediately what I ask (from him). I think he has a great future.”
Fernandes has made 18 Premier League appearances for Southampton having joined in the summer from Sporting.
He scored his first Premier League goal in a 3-2 defeat to Liverpool having also scored in the Carabao Cup against Cardiff City.
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Mikel Merino agrees with Mikel Arteta as he makes ‘scary’ claim about Arsenal team-mate
Arsenal cut the gap to Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table with a 3-1 win against Brentford and one Gunners star certainly caught the eye among his teammates and manager
Mikel Merino claims that Ethan Nwaneri is starting to ‘scare’ him after his Brentford performance.
The Arsenal academy graduate made his full Premier League debut as the Gunners secured a 3-1 success. It came at the same ground that Nwaneri, 17, became the club’s youngest-ever senior player.
And he repaid Arteta’s faith with a standout display against Brentford, with even his Arsenal teammates hailing his frightening abilities. Merino, who scored against the Bees, said: “He is an unbelievable player and also a really nice guy, really shy. He’s always keen to learn and try to listen to the more experienced players, the coach. Whatever can make him a better player, he’s always looking for.
‘But it’s not only him, all the young kids who are training with us, maybe not playing, but in the training sessions you can see that the academy is a big thing in this club also.
They are such good players at such a young age that it is scary sometimes. I remember when I was 17, I was just a little kid, and these guys are playing against some of the best teams in Europe, the Premier League, the Champions League and they don’t care about it. We have to take care of them because they have a bright future ahead of them.”
Boss Arteta has also hailed Nwaneri for his performances. Speaking after the win against Brentford, he said: “The game became very difficult from yesterday because, again, we lost some players and had certain issues around the camp.
“We had to deal with that, we made some changes, Ethan [Nwaneri] making his Premier League debut, anyone that you put there, [they had the] right attitude, right level of performance and that sustains the level of the team.
