After watching Jeremain Lens’s performance at the King power stadium on the opening day of the season playing out wide on the right-hand side, I personally thought the adaptation to the Barclays Premier League would just be too much for the Dutchman.
Before the recent dip in form, he was remembered for when he pounced onto a Yann M’vila through pass to produce the most delightful Dutch masterclass chip against West Ham only for him then to see himself pick up a second yellow card which cost his side their first 3 points of the season. From then on after only a few substitute appearances we all thought an exit might have been on the cards for the £12-million midfielder and his dangerous challenge on Diafra Sakho might well have confirmed it.
Not many Sunderland fans predicted what side of Jeremain Lens we were going to get in our FA cup 3rd round tie away at Arsenal with Big Sam confirming mid-week that players who hadn’t been starting in recent weeks were finally going to get their chance to impress him. When the Dutchman all of a sudden took advantage of some schoolboy defending by Koscielny to slot home past Cech, a shock was on the cards, that was until Arsenal’s big players came into the action in the second-half and took the game away from Sunderland.
But his overall performance in the tie was encouraging, including the amount of ground he covered along with his ability to retain possession throughout the 90 minutes must surely now give Sam a better option of who to play behind the strikers. With Lens’s 3 goals this season against Aston Villa, West Ham and Arsenal coming from attacking midfield areas field, and with Ola Toivonen failing to live up to his potential in that role, surely Lens should get a run in the team?
With a relegation 6-pointer away to Swansea to come followed by a trip to London to face Tottenham Hotspur this Saturday, Sam must surely now be thinking ahead whether Lens can make an impact in those games and whether or not the side’s ability to put the ball in the back of the net can improve. When played in the number 10 role, Lens has impressed, and Sunderland need him to step up to the plate in the next two away games, with only one away win which was back at Crystal Palace in November.
YouTube: Lens stunner defeats Hannover
With the £12-million price tag still hanging on his shoulders, and with the chance now to express himself until to the end of the season in his most favourable position, it will be interesting to see whether Lens can now beat all expectations of all Sunderland fans and become their saviour of the season with the service to the forwards and some goals to add his tally of three so far.
