Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter has reacted with delight to his inclusion by Martin O'Neill in his preliminary 35 man Ireland squad for the forthcoming European Championship qualifier against Poland.
The 25 year-old midfielder, who first met O’Neill by chance in a car park when both men went to see Fulham play several months ago, has been one of the key players in Bournemouth’s remarkable push for a place in the Premier League.
After hearing the news, though, he expressed his gratitude to his club manager, Eddie Howe, under whose guidance his career has flourished since 2010 when the now 37 year-old signed him from conference side Woking.
“I’m feeling really pleased,” he said in an interview with his club’s website. “My main goal is to do well with Bournemouth and I knew in the back of my mind if I do that I’d get a chance to play at international level for Ireland.
“Hopefully that chance has come and if I do get the opportunity to play it will be one I’m looking forward to and one I’ll look at with a lot of pride. I’m sure the manager will take a lot of pleasure seeing me get into the squad.
“If you look back to when I first signed,” he continues, “especially for the fee and where I came from, you probably wouldn’t have thought we’d be sitting top of the Championship five years later and I’d get my call up. It’s something we can look back on with a lot of pride. He’s helped me a lot to get to this point and I’m very thankful to him.”
Arter’s career appeared to be in the doldrums when he was released by Charlton as a 19 year-old. he had already represented Ireland at a couple of underage levels but he readily acknowledges that when he was playing non-league football the idea of an international call-up was a long way from his mind.
“When I got released,” he says, “international level wasn’t something I ever thought about. Getting back into the Football League was my main concern, whether that was League One or Two, albeit I knew that if I did get there, I’d have ambition to get to where I am now.
“It’s hard to achieve your ambitions (and) I haven’t fully achieved them yet, I still have a lot more I want to achieve. I’ve got to a good point in my career at the moment and it’s a place I’m enjoying, but I’m not ready to rest on my laurels yet. I’m looking forward to future challenges.”
