Crooks says Newcastle’s Diame is experiencing his best form in England

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Senegalese midfielder Mohamed Diame has not experienced a purple patch like this at Newcastle United since his days as a West Ham player.

Newcastle United’s Senegalese midfielder Mohamed Diame was instrumental in his side’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal on Sunday, as goals from Ayoze Perez and Matt Ritchie were enough to cancel out Alexandre Lacazette’s early opener.

Rafa Benitez’s men have undoubtedly come good when required, with their season having got to a point where they were in grave danger of facing the drop once again.

However, in the last few weeks the Toon have battled into the top ten, and have begun to establish a gap between themselves and 11th-placed Bournemouth with a game in hand over the Cherries.

With Everton, Tottenham and Chelsea all left to play, their rise up the table could not have come at a better time, and the Magpies have now earned a sufficient cushion to allow themselves some slip-ups between now and the end of the season.

Nevertheless, as they have proven against Manchester United and Arsenal this season, they are capable of producing displays to down even those at the top end of the table, and Mo Diame has been right at the heart of this according to Garth Crooks.

Speaking via his weekly piece on the BBC Sport Website, Crooks singled out Diame as one of the players right at the heart of Newcastle’s rediscovery of good form, suggesting that the 30-year-old has not experienced a purple patch like this since his days in East London as a Hammer.

“Not since his days at West Ham have I seen the Senegal international look so fit and in such good form. Against Arsenal, Diame was outstanding, as were the entire Newcastle team,” Crooks wrote.

Diame’s work in the win against the Gunners clearly did not go unnoticed, with the former Hull player covering more ground than any of his Magpies teammates having run over 11km.

Alongside Jonjo Shelvey in the midfield, Newcastle have quite the pairing on their hands, which bodes well going into next season and beyond.

The squad is still lacking some serious quality if they wish to cement their status as a top flight side for years to come and, with Benitez at the helm, it is a pity that he is not being given the necessary funds to build a side and make full use of his significant managerial capabilities.

Nevertheless, as long as the Spaniard is in charge the current crop of Toon players will always have a chance of performing to the best of their capabilities.