Arsenal goalkeeper praised for ‘crucial’ saves on international duty | OneFootball

Arsenal’s Karl Hein kept his strong recent form going with a couple of crucial saves in Estonia’s win over Azerbaijan on Friday.

VALLADOLID, SPAIN: Karl Hein of Real Valladolid warms up prior to the La Liga match between Real Valladolid CF and RCD Espanyol de Barcelona at Jose Zorrilla on August 19, 2024. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Arsenal loan goalkeeper Karl Hein is currently away with Estonia on international duty, and he made the starting lineup for their match against Azerbaijan on Friday.

Hein has been in good form for club and country lately, but you perhaps wouldn’t know it from the results.

Before Friday, the goalkeeper hadn’t been on the winning side of a result since August 19th, 11 games ago. Both Estonia and loan club Real Valladolid have been giving up a lot of chances, making his task a difficult one.

So it would have been a relief to end up on the winning side on this occasion.

CARSON, CALIFORNIA: Karl Hein of Arsenal FC looks on during the first half against AFC Bournemouth at Dignity Health Sports Park on July 24, 2024. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

Hein was praised for a couple of “crucial saves” as Estonia triumphed 3-1, making four stops overall. The goalkeeper didn’t keep a clean sheet, but he was only beaten from the penalty spot.

The result was a big boost for Estonia, who are now three points clear of the Nations League relegation zone in their group.

But for Hein, it will be particularly pleasing for his efforts to have got his team the right result for once. Since the end of August, the only positive result he’d been involved in was a 0-0 draw with Real Sociedad.

Valladolid sit 19th in La Liga with just five points from nine games.

Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe (L) and Real Valladolid’s Karl Jakob Hein vie for the ball during the Spanish league football match between Real Madrid CF and Real Valladolid FC at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on August 25, 2024. (Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images)

The break isn’t over yet, and it’s certainly not going to get any easier for Estonia. They face group leaders Sweden next, hoping for a better result than the 3-0 defeat they suffered to the same opponents away from home last month.

Hein will likely make another start, as he’s now started Estonia’s last 16 competitive games in all competitions.