Saints Marching
Fansided

Southampton: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s dedication deserves praise

By Edward Waugh

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 08: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Southampton and Hector Bellerin of Arsenal in action during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Southampton at Emirates Stadium on April 8, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 08: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Southampton and Hector Bellerin of Arsenal in action during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Southampton at Emirates Stadium on April 8, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Danish international showed a lot of desire towards Southampton’s relegation fight against Arsenal on Sunday – putting his body on the line on numerous occasions, and therefore leading by example.

Following this, you’d think that it should be easily argued that Hojbjerg should be an influential player given the chance in the starting line-up – and you would be right.

The former-Munich man has had a somewhat difficult time at Southampton since his arrival last summer, for what is unknown reasons.

However, it should be made clear, that Hojbjerg has always remained dedicated to giving his best when selected to represent the south coast club – despite his form being off during at times.

His first Southampton goal against Wigan Athletic in the FA cup quarter-final would best highlight this, when the 22-year-old elatingly celebrated with the travelling fan base – a real sense of passion coming from the midfielder.

Next: Arsenal vs. Southampton: Opposing fan's view

WIGAN, ENGLAND – MARCH 18: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Southampton (L) celebrates as he scores their first goal with Dusan Tadic and Ryan Bertrand during The Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Wigan Athletic and Southampton at DW Stadium on March 18, 2018 in Wigan, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
WIGAN, ENGLAND – MARCH 18: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg of Southampton (L) celebrates as he scores their first goal with Dusan Tadic and Ryan Bertrand during The Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Wigan Athletic and Southampton at DW Stadium on March 18, 2018 in Wigan, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /

Going forward, Hojbjerg needs to have a hand in every game, not because of his ability, but because of his mentioned passion and enthusiasm to get stuck in, in what is a very difficult situation for Southampton.

More from Saints Marching

To say the rest of the squad don’t have this, could be considered an understatement by yourself – and though it’s not every player, there are a few more ‘experienced’ individuals who should aspire to Hojbjerg’s level of professionalism.

It could be considered concerning that a player of his age, is one of the most motivated players in the squad, though it’s actually a compliment to Hojbjerg’s character instead, and therefore he should be praised highly.

Right now, these are the type of players that Southampton must be relying on, other players such as Alex McCarthy, James Ward-Prowse and Shane Long also giving an excellent account of this on Sunday.

The reason why? Is down to having a nucleus in the team that is fully dedicated to helping Saints avoid relegation and strive on afterwards – without this the task will be impossible.