‘A different animal’: Michael Ball says he wants Beto to start vs Arsenal

Michael Ball has said that he wants to see Everton’s summer signing Beto start upfront against Arsenal on Sunday.

The £26m centre-forward arrived last month from Udinese and has already made an impact for the Toffees.

Making his debut as a substitute in a League Cup Second Round tie at Doncaster Rovers, the 25-year-old scored after just 23 minutes on the pitch and was unlucky not to bag a second, hitting the post with a point-blank header.

The Portuguese forward then made his Premier League debut at Bramall Lane and proved to be a handful for the Sheffield United defence as Sean Dyche’s side returned to Merseyside with a point after a 2-2 draw.

Beto has already impressed after just a handful of performances

Indeed, writing for the Liverpool Echo, former player Michael Ball insists that the 6ft 4in striker is a ‘different animal’ to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, stating that he’s been ‘really impressed’ with Beto’s performances so far.

Ball said: “I’ve been really impressed with Beto’s performances, he’s only had two games but he’s got something different than Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The way he holds the ball up, the way he fights, it’s like he enjoys that a lot more.

I’d be happy for Beto start against Arsenal, he’s showed enough. He’s new for the opposition so might have that element of surprise and that’s what we have lacked for many seasons. Beto’s a different animal to Calvert-Lewin and that will cause Arsenal problems.”

There is no doubt that the summer arrival offers Everton fans hope that the club have found the solution to their goalscoring woes, and Ball goes on to say that ‘it would be great’ to see both Beto and DCL start upfront together for the Blues.

Everton have back-to-back home wins against Arsenal and making it a hattrick would be an enormous boost for Sean Dyche’s side.