'Everything I do is for him' - Sheffield United star Oliver Arblaster loving life as a new dad
Oliver Arblaster became a father in August and he’s just about getting used to the sleepless nights
Sheffield United star Oliver Arblaster is juggling life as a footballer with that of a new dad and he’s loving it.
The 22-year-old became a father for the first time at the end of August to a baby boy and while Arblaster has admitted the change has been tough, he’s getting well used to the broken sleep.
Speaking ahead of Sheffield United’s clash against Lincoln City, the midfielder said, “My missus has been amazing, and it's something you just get used to. Coming up to six weeks now, it feels like it's just flown. But when he's screaming at two, four, five (in the morning), yeah, it's tough.
“You just do it because you love them, and it's all good, don't you?”
Arblaster revealed there has been a change in sleeping arrangements ahead of match days to prioritise his rest.
“We did have this discussion and said, the night before a game, I would sleep in the spare room, just to make sure I would sleep. Even then, a few nights I've slept in the spare room, I've woken up in the middle of the night, in my head just hearing him crying, but he's not actually crying.”
“Apart from obviously away trips as well,” he added, “then I get the full night's sleep.”
“You can never really prepare. But it's changed everything. Just how I look and view everything, everything that I do, everything my partner does. It's for him.”
“Yeah, he's amazing,” he added.
It’s even harder for the midfielder to separate work and family life as Chris Wilder is the grandfather of his child, but he insists the relationship is kept completely separate.
“We've always had a good relationship. Before my injury, when he gave me my debut in the Premier League, someone who's from Sheffield as well, knows the club inside out. But it's not really changed at all, to be fair,” admitted Arblaster.
“If I see him outside of football, we talk zero about football; we keep work life and family life completely separate. And to be fair, that's what I like doing.”