Harry Clarke had never travelled to Scotland until this summer but he will know exactly what to expect if he makes his Ross County debut against Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday.
Defender Clarke has joined County on loan from Arsenal for the season, with the 20-year-old in contention to make his debut this weekend.
Clarke, who spent last term on loan with English League Two side Oldham Athletic, is highly rated by Arsenal and was among Mikel Arteta’s first team squad during pre-season.
Welcome to County, Harry Clarke🤝
We have today signed talented young defender Harry Clarke on a season-long loan from Arsenal FC.
— Ross County FC (@RossCounty) August 2, 2021
In a unique twist of fate, Clarke played for the Gunners in their 2-1 friendly defeat to Hibs at Easter Road earlier in the summer, in what was his first trip north of the border.
That means Clarke is well drilled on the threats of Jack Ross’ side on Sunday, and he said: “It could potentially be my first game. It certainly helps that I’ve come up against them, and if they can beat Arsenal’s first team, it goes to show how strong the league is this year.
“I thought they were good. They were hard to break down, they made a couple of mistakes but that’s going to happen in pre-season.
“I’m not too sure if they were at full strength when we played them, but they scored two goals against us so they are a threat.”
Clarke sees the switch to the Scottish Premiership as the next stage in his development, having made 35 appearances for Oldham last season.
Having come through Arsenal’s youth setup, Clarke says the opportunity to play senior football has been invaluable.
He added: “The spell at Oldham was important for me. It helped me get into men’s football for the first time. I managed to play a lot of games.
“It was a great bunch of boys there, I played under two managers that took to me well and set me up for this loan. Hopefully I can do well this year and push on again.
“I don’t think last year was much of a shock. I always knew I was ready to play men’s football, no matter how young I was.
“It definitely has set me up for Scottish football.
“I spent pre-season with the first team at Arsenal, so that has definitely helped me.
“It’s better to be involved in men’s football than being in the academy though, you learn more of the tricks of the game.
“I obviously want to break into the first team, but I have to do these steps as part of my development.”
Clarke says the example set by Scotland defender Kieran Tierney, who has thrived since joining Arsenal from Celtic two years ago, gives him plenty motivation to make the most of his stint in Scotland.
He added: “I think this league will definitely toughen me up. Kieran coming down to Arsenal is a bit different, the Premier League is physical but it hasn’t really got that scrappy type about it which definitely helped him.
“Hopefully I can do the same. He’s a great guy – they love him there.
“They have set up a good structure for loan players now. Ken Gillard is one of the coaches who will sit down with us and analyse most of our games.
“We have also got the loan manager who will watch our games and help us.
Clarke is confident he can hit the ground running if selected by Staggies boss Malky Mackay, adding: “I will always be ready. I got asked what my favourite position was, but I will play anywhere for the team.
Good first session today! 💪🏼⚽️ #staggies pic.twitter.com/8w9Chwg34O
— Harry Clarke (@HarryyClarke6) August 3, 2021
“It’s nice to play in my position, but I’ve got that attitude where I will put my head down to anything and work hard.
“I have put in a shift the last couple of days, so hopefully I can put a seed in the manager’s head and he sees I am ready.
“If it takes another week, it takes another week – but I will always be ready.”
