Victor Anichebe credited Louis Saha for helping him develop as a striker – after he scored Everton FC’s equaliser against Wigan.
The 23-year-old Nigerian international rescued a point for the Toffees with a bullet-header in the 84th minute of the 1-1 draw at the DW stadium on Saturday.
Anichebe, who was on as a late substitute, became the club’s top scorer with four goals, and believes he has benefited hugely from watching Saha in training.
The French striker left Everton FC on a deadline day switch to Spurs last week but Anichebe says he was sad to see him depart.
“I have learned a lot from him,” he said. “I always say to people Louis is probably one of the best players I’ve seen. Him and Steven (Pienaar) have been up there for me at Everton.
“But Louis’ control, pace, the way he uses the ball and even the way he thinks, he just brushes things off, and he’s a great professional. It’s sad to see him go, he’s helped me a lot since I’ve been in and around the teams, even when I was injured.
“I’ll still stay in touch with him, and hopefully he’ll do well at Spurs. They’re a great team as well and they might suit him a bit. At least we’ve got Niki (Jelavic) now.”
Pienaar went straight back into the team that secured a point against Roberto Martinez relegation battlers, and Anichebe was pleased to see the South African return.
He said: “I’m so happy to have him back, he’s really close to me. He makes the team play so much better.
“He’s always available for the ball, I don’t even think he gave it away at all. He’s a big player for us.”
The arrival of new striker Nikica Jelavic and the improvement of Denis Stracqualursi has increased the competition for attacking places at Everton, but Anichebe is relishing the task.
He said: “I’m not looking to fight anyone or whatever. Competition is great for the team. I think we needed another striker, especially with Louis going out and Nikica has a great record in Scotland.
“I’ve spoken to him a bit and he’s a great lad. Denis was unbelievable against City, and Tolis is fighting as well.
“If you go into every game knowing you’ll play it can be like going through the motions. But if you need to fight, you have to take a chance so it can only be good.”
Although he was super sub again on Saturday, after previously scoring to secure draws at Wigan and Villa and a win at West Brom, Anichebe would like to figure from the start more often.
“I tried to rubbish that super-sub tag from the Europa League a few years back but it seems to be following me round. I couldn’t tell if it was my first touch but it was a valuable touch,” he said.
“Hopefully I can start a few more games soon. The manager keeps putting me in and then taking me out and just trying to help me really. Obviously I have had the injuries and I hadn’t trained for a few days before Wigan so it is important to be careful.”
He added: “It was a tough game. It was a really bad pitch and I think it was always going to be tough after Tuesday night.
“The lads put a lot of effort into beating City and Wigan are fighting for their lives and play some good football. We would have liked to have won, but given that we didn’t it was important that we didn’t lose.
“Hopefully we can pick ourselves up and do well against Chelsea.”
The 23-year-old Nigerian international rescued a point for the Toffees with a bullet-header in the 84th minute of the 1-1 draw at the DW stadium on Saturday.
Anichebe, who was on as a late substitute, became the club’s top scorer with four goals, and believes he has benefited hugely from watching Saha in training.
The French striker left Everton FC on a deadline day switch to Spurs last week but Anichebe says he was sad to see him depart.
“I have learned a lot from him,” he said. “I always say to people Louis is probably one of the best players I’ve seen. Him and Steven (Pienaar) have been up there for me at Everton.
“But Louis’ control, pace, the way he uses the ball and even the way he thinks, he just brushes things off, and he’s a great professional. It’s sad to see him go, he’s helped me a lot since I’ve been in and around the teams, even when I was injured.
“I’ll still stay in touch with him, and hopefully he’ll do well at Spurs. They’re a great team as well and they might suit him a bit. At least we’ve got Niki (Jelavic) now.”
Pienaar went straight back into the team that secured a point against Roberto Martinez relegation battlers, and Anichebe was pleased to see the South African return.
He said: “I’m so happy to have him back, he’s really close to me. He makes the team play so much better.
“He’s always available for the ball, I don’t even think he gave it away at all. He’s a big player for us.”
The arrival of new striker Nikica Jelavic and the improvement of Denis Stracqualursi has increased the competition for attacking places at Everton, but Anichebe is relishing the task.
He said: “I’m not looking to fight anyone or whatever. Competition is great for the team. I think we needed another striker, especially with Louis going out and Nikica has a great record in Scotland.
“I’ve spoken to him a bit and he’s a great lad. Denis was unbelievable against City, and Tolis is fighting as well.
“If you go into every game knowing you’ll play it can be like going through the motions. But if you need to fight, you have to take a chance so it can only be good.”
Although he was super sub again on Saturday, after previously scoring to secure draws at Wigan and Villa and a win at West Brom, Anichebe would like to figure from the start more often.
“I tried to rubbish that super-sub tag from the Europa League a few years back but it seems to be following me round. I couldn’t tell if it was my first touch but it was a valuable touch,” he said.
“Hopefully I can start a few more games soon. The manager keeps putting me in and then taking me out and just trying to help me really. Obviously I have had the injuries and I hadn’t trained for a few days before Wigan so it is important to be careful.”
He added: “It was a tough game. It was a really bad pitch and I think it was always going to be tough after Tuesday night.
“The lads put a lot of effort into beating City and Wigan are fighting for their lives and play some good football. We would have liked to have won, but given that we didn’t it was important that we didn’t lose.
“Hopefully we can pick ourselves up and do well against Chelsea.”
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