SOMETIMES, footballing careers can turn in an instant. In October 2014, Isaac Hayden was poised to make his breakthrough at Arsenal. With Arsene Wenger’s side having suffered a glut of midfield injuries, the boyhood Gunners fan found himself in the frame to face Hull City in a Premier League game at the Emirates.

On the Friday morning, he was named in the starting line-up. On the Friday afternoon, he was nursing an injury that would sideline him for more than eight months and effectively signal the end of his Arsenal career before it had begun.

Not so much a sliding doors moment; more the after-effects of a sliding tackle from Mathieu Flamini. Hayden damaged his ankle ligaments, and the by time he returned to fitness, Francis Coquelin had established himself in the Arsenal first team and Alex Iwobi was regarded as the next big thing in the club’s youth ranks.

Hayden was loaned to Hull City, and joined Newcastle United on a permanent basis last summer. He has developed into a key member of the Magpies side that takes on Rotherham United this afternoon, and it is testament to his resilience and strength of character that he is able to look back on his Arsenal heartbreak without a sense of bitterness or regret.

“It was an unfortunate tackle with Flamini,” said Hayden. “Nothing malicious, just a clash. My ankle turned and I felt a click.

“I tried to carry on and make it to the team hotel. I rang the doctor at five o’clock and said, ‘I can’t even walk up the stairs here, I’m done’.

“It was hard to take. It was my big chance, and I was trying everything, taking painkillers. But it was literally hanging off! Then, you’re thinking, ‘I could play and have an absolute stinker and that could kill me as well’.

“It was a massive moment in my career, and it took a little while to get over. When I came back, Coquelin had broken in, and was doing really well.”

As a result, Hayden found himself called into Wenger’s office and told he was going on loan to Hull. That was the point when he knew his hopes of breaking through at Arsenal were over, but it would take another 12 months for him to secure his permanent exit from the Emirates.

Even then, Wenger was reluctant to give up on the 21-year-old completely, only for Hayden to persuade the Arsenal boss that it was in everyone’s interest for his move to Newcastle to be a permanent £2.5m deal.

“Arsene didn’t say he didn’t want me, and it wasn’t like he didn’t think I was good enough,” said Hayden. “It was more looking at the squad. They brought in (Granit) Xhaka for £34m, and they’re not going to play a 21-year-old in front of him.

“I didn’t want to go on loan again, I wanted to find a home. Arsene gave me that opportunity, and he was fantastic with me.”

Since moving to Tyneside, Hayden has started 20 of Newcastle’s 26 Championship matches this season, successfully establishing himself as an energetic, box-to-box presence at the heart of midfield.

He is currently ahead of Jack Colback in the pecking order, and is Rafael Benitez’s preferred partner for Jonjo Shelvey, who returned from a five-match suspension in Wednesday’s FA Cup replay win over Birmingham City.

The Magpies missed Shelvey during his absence, and the former Liverpool and Swansea midfielder’s passing could be crucial this afternoon as Benitez’s side look to break down a Rotherham line-up that will travel to St James’ Park looking to shut up shop.

Newcastle might not have a Mezut Ozil or an Alexis Sanchez in their starting line-up, but Shelvey is the closest they come to a truly top-class play-maker, and Hayden is relishing the opportunity to play alongside the England international.

“Jonjo has played for Liverpool and at the highest level in the Premier League,” said Hayden. “I do not doubt his ability and I don’t think he doubts it either. No one doubts his ability. You can see he has fabulous passing range.

“He is a good leader as well, which people might not necessarily realise. He is good in the dressing room and things like that. When he plays, he gives everyone a calming presence and takes the pressure off other players.

“He dictates the game a lot of the time. But the main thing for us is that you can focus on Jonjo too much because there are another ten players out there who do a job and help the team.”

With Shelvey and Hayden in tandem in midfield, Benitez will be confident of engineering an immediate return to the top-flight after last season’s relegation. That is the overriding aim for the remainder of the current campaign, and beyond that, Hayden has a potential future date inked in his diary.

“I’m not going to lie, I’ve thought about going back to play against Arsenal at the Emirates a few times,” he said. “Whether it be the FA Cup, the Capital One Cup or hopefully eventually in the league, to go back to the Emirates would be a great occasion.

“It would be good to see some of the people there, because a lot of people there have helped me.  I was there for eight years, and it was a big part of my life and career. I was an Arsenal fan growing up, so it would be a good moment.

“It would be even more special to do it with Newcastle because I’m really enjoying my time here and I think the club is really helping me develop as a player.”