Doku’s biggest problem is through no fault of his own - being hyped up in some quarters as the next Messi and being used as a stick to beat Grealish with while he was out injured. It’s all been very unedifying the last few weeks and some of our online “fanbase” and a few on here can be blamed for that. And then when Doku *doesn’t* play like that he gets slated…
He’s a young, talented winger whose effort can’t be faulted at all. But it was always unrealistic to expect him to slot into every game and take on his winger and rack up a ton of assists and goals just because he’s got a rapid turn of pace. For starters, he’s only been here a few weeks along with other new signings. Pep was absent for some of that. Also, his natural style of play jars with some of the demands of Pep. This was seen yesterday in his rush to take on / dribble but it led to him losing the ball more often than not.
He’s also only played as much as he had because Jack was injured and we needed cover on the LW. Doku has done a good job of that and what I’d like to see is Doku on the right and Grealish on the left for a game, offering balance to each other. And Foden back in a more central role.
Not sure I can see Doku starting against Arsenal as I imagine Pep will be looking for more control / a more senior starting XI, but I just hope for his sake that people dial down the hype and give him some time to develop under Pep’s system, and he’ll come good.
