Why Willock’s move is best for all parties involved by Yash
One of Arsenal’s top priorities in the current summer window was to decide on Joe Willock’ future, whether to sell or involve him with the Gunners’ first team.
Last month manager Mikel Arteta said, “Joe is part of our plans, he’s our player and in the time that he is here we will try to make the most out of him.”
A month later, he all but confirmed his departure by saying, “With Joe, we’ll explain the reasons when we can. It’s all I can say now. When I can say more, I’ll let you know.”
Deciding on Willock’s future would have been very hard for the club. The midfielders that Arsenal have, have barely contributed in terms of goals. He had a unique skill set, which could have been beneficial to the current team, that struggled massively in front of goal last season.
But cashing in on him was the correct decision by the club. First of all, the 21-year-old will never be able to replicate his scoring record at Newcastle United.
Willock scored 7 goals out of the 14 shots that he attempted at the Tyneside club. Even the likes of all-time Premier League scorer Alan Shearer or Thierry Henry found it impossible to score one goal from every two shots they took. It was an absurdly crazy hot streak, which is destined to cool down.
The other aspect that we should point out is that Willock failed to establish himself as a first choice pick at the Emirates Stadium. He made his debut for Arsenal in the Premier League all the way back in April 2018. Since then, he has been in and out of the starting 11, which tells you more than you need to know.
Willock is also a player who would struggle to fit in Arteta’s current 4-2-3-1 formation. Him playing in the double midfield pivot instead of Granit Xhaka or Thomas Partey would have been a poor decision.
Similarly, he cannot be deployed as a central attacking midfielder. Willock has been given plenty of chances there in his Arsenal career, but has failed to impress.
Despite the fact that Willock should have been the last person in the queue of clearing the so called “deadwood,” Arsenal cannot sell players for whom they have not received a penny.
Last season, fans were furious when Arsenal sold Emi Martinez to Aston Villa. But did the North London outfit have an option to choose between Bernd Leno and the Argentine? No.
They sold the keeper for which they received a reasonable offer, and even though that has come back to bite them, was the correct decision at that time.
It would have obviously been better if Arsenal were in a position to sell who they wanted to. But unfortunately, they are not.
£25M for a player who has played bit part for the Arsenal first team, but impressed out on loan, is a tremendous success for the club, especially the academy.
It will now help us to pursue other targets, who have more chances of fitting in with the current set up.
If Willock had stayed, he would just have been a squad player. And to get £25M for a squad player is a superb deal in my opinion.
I know for certain that few people would agree to my point and majority would smash me in the comments section below.
But the truth is that Joe Willock is the only player that’s attractive to other clubs at the moment, and Arsenal are doing right to move him on.
*If you can, be kind in the comments. Cheers
Yash Bisht