Arsenal loanee benched for loan club’s assistant manager
Lucas Nygaard, on loan from Arsenal, saw his first career at the Brabrand IF team come to an end, returning to the bench to be replaced by his assistant coach.
Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images
Young Arsenal goalkeeper Lucas Nygaard was loaned to Danish third division club Brabrand IF in early September, and his time at the club initially appeared to be on a steady upward trajectory.
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After a few games on the bench, Nygaard progressed into the starting lineup, playing three games in a row between September 20 and October 5.
Yet since then, the Arsenal goalkeeper has returned to the bench, watching Brabrand’s last two games from the sidelines.
Photo via Arsenal.com
To further complicate the situation, the goalkeeper who replaces Nygaard in the starting lineup is also the club’s assistant coach, Henrik Lindhard.
Lindhard, 30, plays a player-coach role at the club, and perhaps Brabrand currently prefers to rely on his experience rather than a 19-year-old on loan.
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But that doesn’t mean everything has gone according to plan since the change. In fact, Lindhard’s first match in the team was a 5–1 defeat against FC Roskilde, the most goals Brabrand has conceded in a match this season.
Lindhard nevertheless retained his place in the lineup for the following match against VSK Aarhus and made a couple of saves to keep a clean sheet in a 4-0 victory.
Photo via Arsenal.com
In Nygaard’s three appearances for Brabrand so far, they lost 3-2 to Skive IK, won 2-1 against Thisted FC and lost 3-0 to Naestved BK.
The goalkeeper made eight saves against Skive, so it was a good performance despite the first loss. But he made no saves against Naestved BK, which perhaps explains why it was after this match that he lost his place.
It’s always difficult being a goalkeeper on loan, and Nygaard hopes to get another chance to prove himself soon.