Arsenal loanee called ‘hero’ by local media

Arsenal loanee Karl Hein put in a heroic performance for Real Valladolid this weekend, according to the Spanish media, despite his team ultimately losing the match.

Arsenal goalkeeper Karl Hein started for loan club Real Valladolid against Villarreal on Saturday, and the local media were certainly impressed with what they saw from him.

Begona Villarrubia writes for Mundo Deportivo that Hein was “the hero of the match with his great saves”, rating him as their Player of the Match.

Villarrubia claimed some of the stops seemed “impossible”, and Villarreal really had to struggle to “break down the wall” in the Real Valladolid net.

Those comments might be surprising given the eventual scoreline, a 2-1 win for Villarreal. But the stats suggest Hein faced 4.80 expected goals on target, so he actually conceded almost three goals fewer than you’d expect.

The 22-year-old made six diving saves, and he completed 97% of his passes, including seven of eight long balls. It was a fantastic display that deserved more than defeat.

Ultimately, a team taking shots rated at almost five expected goals are going to score at least one or two. That’s on Hein’s teammates, not the player himself.

Glorious defeat has been a familiar theme for Hein this season, unfortunately. The goalkeeper is consistently praised for his performances, but Real Valladolid have only managed three clean sheets and two wins in 11 games.

The hope is that if and when Hein makes the step up to a better team, he could maintain those high levels and be a real success story.