As the former Arsenal youngster found himself one-v-one with the opposition goalkeeper, his former coach would have known what was coming.
A fierce, fizzing strike low and hard into the bottom corner. His record at international level may be pretty underwhelming – that was only his sixth goal for his country – but Dennis Haar knows better than anyone that Donyell Malen is capable of a lot more than he’s shown so far in Oranje.
At least, with his place in Ronald Koeman‘s 26-man Netherlands squad secured ahead of this summer’s European Championships, the one-time Arsenal prospect will be given the chance to finally light a spark under his international career on German soil.
That thumping finish during Monday’s 4-0 hammering of Iceland – the very same Iceland which defeated England at Wembley a few days earlier – should give Malen’s confidence a timely boost as he looks to rediscover the goalscoring knack that saw him hit the net 27 times during his final season at PSV Eindhoven in 2020/21.
Former Arsenal man is central to Netherlands Euro hopes
“It was really enjoyable for Donyell (at PSV),” Haar, who coached a young Malen in the club’s reserve side before he established himself as a regular starter, tells ESPN.
“We looked back at his goals a year ago. That was really crazy. There are such great goals. That was a great time.”
Malen spent only two years at Arsenal between 2015 and 2017. The one-time Ajax starlet jumped at the opportunity to return to his native Netherlands when PSV came calling, knowing that first-team chances would be more forthcoming in the Eredivisie than in the Premier League.
“He was actually there with one goal,” Haar explains, opening up on Malen’s decision to turn his back on Arsenal. “To get to the (PSV) first-team as quickly as possible.
“You could tell right away, he wasn’t normal. He walked past players as if they weren’t there. You immediately saw that he wouldn’t play in the Eredivisie for long. He was just too good.
“Besides the fact that he is very fast in the first few meters, he was also technically gifted and very dangerous in his individual actions close to the goal.”
Donyell Malen dreaming of Emirates return
Malen then swapped PSV for Borussia Dortmund to the tune of £26 million after the last European Championships in 2021. Now a rampaging winger rather than a centre-forward, Malen has not been quite so prolific in Germany as he was in Holland but he still managed a more-than respectable 15 under Edin Derzic as BVB reached the Champions League final.
Interestngly, Malen admitted a few months ago that he would love to re-join Arsenal at some point in the future, obviously feeling he has unfinished business at the London giants.
Comparisons – albeit rather fanciful comparisons – have been drawn with Kylian Mbappe too, Malen sharing the Real Madrid-bound superstar’s searing pace if not quite his postage-stamp finishing.
“I look for potential,” one-time Madrid playmaker Rafael Van der Vaart tells Rondo. “He’s so light-footed, so fast. A bit like what Kylian Mbappe has.
“Only, it doesn’t really work out with the Dutch national team. (Malen is) an amazing player. But if you want to become Mbappe, you have to show it every match.
“I wonder; does he get the most out of (his talent)? Dortmund is a good club, but not Real Madrid.”
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