With his social media accounts full of abuse from Melbourne Victory fans that once loved him, Daniel Arzani is ready to embrace the boos he knows will rain down on him at AAMI Park.
Arzani will face the Victory on Saturday night for the first time since returning to the A-League Men with boyhood club and arch-rivals Melbourne City, on loan from Hungary's Ferencvaros.
But focused firmly on hitting form and making the Socceroos' World Cup squad, Arzani has no trepidation about the reception he'll undoubtedly receive.
"I embrace it. I mean, they've already been coming for me for a couple of weeks now on Instagram," Arzani told AAP.
"To be fair, I've been copping a fair bit of abuse, but I think it's part of the game. It's to be expected.
"I don't take it to heart. It's part of the game. I can also understand why they're a little bit upset, but no, I don't mind it.
"I'm excited, to be completely honest with you - not because there's any bad blood or there's anything to prove, but just because it's obviously a big occasion. It's a big game. It's an important one. It's huge for the club.
"And also, more than anything, it's nice going out and having some rivalry against some old mates, and go out there and (have) a little bit of shithousery.
"It'll be fun. I think it'll be a good night."
The attacker joined City on loan in January after a "super-frustrating" start to life at Ferencvaros, where game time was limited, especially given the Hungarian club didn't play with conventional wingers.
"The best option for me, especially with it being a World Cup year, was to kind of take a bit less of a risk and to come back and try to get as much game time as possible," he said.
The winger also required surgery after irritating meniscus - originally injured in his ACL tear back in 2018 - in a training incident while in Hungary, and is still building fitness.
Arzani, who has a strong relationship with Socceroos boss Tony Popovic, knows he needs to perform to get on the plane to the USA.
"With the national team, it's been made very clear that it's going to be picked based off of form and minutes and consistency. So I'm just trying to find that as soon as I can," he said.
"I need to play good football, some of my best football, and I need to do it consistently. The game time is the bare minimum.
"I need to be on the stage and to be able to show myself, but then when I'm there, I need to be performing at a very high level or I've got no chance."
Arzani, 27, was Australia's boy wonder at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but missed out on Qatar and is determined to return to football's biggest stage.
"There's not many people that have an opportunity to play in one, let alone two," he said.
"I was so young the first one, and I didn't really fully understand the weight and I didn't understand the occasion properly.
"And I think this time, if I go, I'll be a lot more grateful and a lot more understanding of where I am and how much of a privileged position it is."
