With a big game coming up against Getafe this weekend, it seems appropriate to highlight one of their former players who is having himself a spectacular campaign. He was also selected as the player of the week for registering another goal & assist in the derby. No other Spanish player has more goals (22) & assists (15) than Pablo Sarabia García this season. He has formed one of the most prolific partnerships in Sevilla’s history with Wissam Ben Yedder, rivalling the numbers of the godly duo in Kanoute & Fabiano.
So, how has he not yet featured for Spain? Perhaps Luis Enrique is a complicated figure, and it takes a lot to convince him. Perhaps, as we’ve seen in certain games, he may be a bit too inconsistent to be considered to play at national team level. But how inconsistent is he?
Dating from the 1st qualifying round of the Europa League, Sarabia has not directly contributed to a goal in 23 of 48 matches (48%) he played this season {16 of which were starts (33%)}. Now, not getting a goal or assist doesn’t mean he played badly in those games. But the eye test always tells more than stats.
I’ll use a recent example, the Slavia Prague matches. That elimination in the away leg was extremely unlucky, but when your team is playing a crunch game, you need the big players to step up. I often see him shy away in these occasions. I could recall the same type of performance at the Bernabéu. You would think as a former RM Castilla product that he would relish the opportunity and prove he’s more worthy of a spot than the likes of Lucas Vázquez. Keep in mind that Machín’s tactics of playing a midfield trio of Sarabia-Banega-Vázquez was an absolute joke, so he wasn’t necessarily in a position to succeed. That game was up for the taking, and then we let Modrić do his thing.
However, I thought in the 2nd leg CdR match at Camp Nou that he was somewhat decent. It wasn’t his best game by far, but i felt he tried his hardest to make an impact, playing as a support striker behind Silva. But we all know how that match ended.
To his credit, Sarabia has displayed his versatility this season after featuring in various positions, particularly at RCM in a 3-man midfield in Machín’s system. In my opinion, this is where his playing position should evolve to. Unless we decide to continue with 2 strikers next season, he should play in the hole in a 4-2-3-1 or combine with Banega & another DM in a 4-3-3. What do you guys think?
I find a poll to be very limiting for this topic, as i respect everyone’s opinion on here. Should we keep Sarabia? or is he that inconsistent that we should just take the €18M? If he stays, does he need to play a more central role, or is he fine where he is at RW? Answer however you’d like.