Donovan excited by Keane arrival

LOS ANGELES Galaxy captain Landon Donovan believes Robbie Keane will slot effortlessly into his new side and go on to become a star in the MLS.

Speaking after the side’s CONCACAF Champions League group stage opener against Honduran champions Montagua, Donovan cited the Irish mentality as a key factor in what Keane will bring.

“We’re all really excited,’’ Donovan said. “His resumé speaks for itself. We’ve all watched him throughout our careers, I can remember many times turning on the tv and seeing him play and score bunches of goals. I think what’s going to be most helpful for this team is that he’s an honest player, every Irish player I’ve ever known has the same mentality, they work hard, they run hard and they want to win. I played with Seamus Coleman at Everton and it was the same way, so we’re expecting really big things from him.

“I think the transition for him will be seamless. Seeing the way he plays, how active he is, the way he moves. This team has a lot of the ball, we create a lot of chances and if he’s aggressive and gets himself in front of the goal then there’s no limit to how many goals he can score.”

Donovan who is Galaxy’s leading scorer this season, was on the mark again in the 2-0 win over Montagua, a win Galaxy manager Bruce Arena later conceded should have been by a larger margin. And that’s where the Republic of Ireland’s leading scorer comes in.

Arena said: “When he arrives I hope he will put us in a position to win the Supporters Shield (awarded to the side with the best regular season record) and help us in this competition (CONCACAF Champions League).

“To have a player of that experience and that kind of goalscoring record is going to be great for our team so I’m real excited and from our point of view I think the timing is really good.