Arsenal ready to cash in on one of their best academy products

Arsenal will allow Joe Willock to leave the Emirates this season if they get a suitor to pay £20m for his signature, according to The Telegraph.

The midfielder has spent this second half of the campaign on loan at Newcastle United where he has been thriving.

His fine goal-scoring form is one reason why the Magpies have survived relegation to the Championship this season.

They want to keep hold of him, but he would likely return to Arsenal on the expiry of his current temporary agreement first.

The report says he has done enough to get a chance at the Emirates next season, but he doesn’t seem to fit into the style that Mikel Arteta wants to play.

Arsenal needs cash and although they might need to sign midfielders, he would leave for the right price.

Willock is one of the finest players to break into the team from the Arsenal academy in recent seasons and the club will want to keep him.

But Arteta needs players who can deliver results immediately for him and that makes replacing Willock with a more suitable player a smart move.

The midfielder will probably still have time to fight for a first-team place during pre-season especially if Martin Odegaard and Dani Ceballos return to Real Madrid.

Tags Joe Willock

33 Comments

  1. I`d take the money, I`d offload Nketiah and Maitland Niles as well. Decent young players but they`re not going to get us back to where we want to be. We need to get a few of the senior players off the wage bill as well and generate some funds. We`ve got 4 or 5 exceptional young kids who we should build the team around, its not going to be easy and we`re probably in for a tough 12 – 18 months but if we show a bit of patience and get our recruitment right we might be competitive again in a couple of years time. Sadly, the modern day fan has no patience and wants success yesterday. No doubt the twitter mob and AFTV halfwits will drive another manager out and we`ll be back to square one again.

    1. I go along with your views Johnno.As I see it the problem will not be selling the likes of Willock, AMN and Nketiah who I think are marketable commodities but others such as, Torreria, Auba , Lacca, Kolasinac , Bellerin , Willian, and sadly Pepe , who are not.Presumably, the owner will allocate a modest budget to our Manager,(whoever that may be) which can be augmented by the proceeds from any sales , so the quicker we can unload certain players the better.As it is, in the present financial climate, loans will probably be a feature of the next transfer window.

      1. We obviously think alike Grandad because that list you put up would be the first ones out the door if I had my way. We need a total rebuild, it should have been done after the Cup final last year but we delayed the process and only started it during the winter transfer window. Hopefully Arteta bombs another load of big time Charlies out in the summer. I`m more than prepared for a bit of short term pain. I`m sick of plugging gaps and watching us stagnate and get gradually worse every year. Time for a thorough clearout but our fanbase is so entitled these days that it makes it almost impossible for a manager. A few bad results next season and the spoilt entitled kids will demand his head.

    2. Nketiah for sure – just can’t see him making it as a forward at this level – but the other two give me pause. I do believe both *can* be top class if handled correctly and show the right attitude. It’s really a question of whether they are willing to learn and adjust their playing styles to make the most of their potentials. AMN has the tools to be an excellent fullback or wingback, but seemingly would rather be a CM, even if it means he has to step down in his career – in some respects it’s admirable that he’d back himself to prove people wrong but I don’t think it’s wise.
      Willock on the other hand needs to make only minor adjustments to his game imo. He’s proven he can score goals as a box to box player and he has the athleticism and talent, it’s just about doing a job for the team, I think, the way Saka and ESR have done when required.
      Ultimately I’d say these players should only be let go of there’s really no chance of them making it in our first team or really want out; it’s better for the club to bring academy players through if we can fit club morale and helps attract better prospects to the academy in the future

      1. Disagree Davi. I`d never slag the likes of Niles or Willock off as they`re triers but I just dont think they`re quite good enough. Niles is a decent player who`ll do a good job for a PL struggler. Willock has definitely got a goal in him but he`s a head down player, I`ve watched him closely since he was a kid and he rarely gets his head up and picks out the right pass. You can get away with that at junior level but he`s always going to struggle with his final ball at the top level. Try to take an honest view and compare the likes of Willock and AMN with ESR, Saka or Tierney and you`ll soon realise that there`s no comparison.

        1. Watch him tear apart city’s defence tonight with his athlectism and well timed runs then you will know he’s way more than what you just described.

          1. John, exactly right; Joe Willock just “strutted his stuff” on the biggest stage against the Champions elect.
            Arsenal would be better served by promoting Academy talent and young players like Willock, augmented with tough professionals in the positions Arsenal lacks. The Club needs to invest in players who have personal professional pride and are proud to fight for the shirt and the badge.
            The problem is moving on the lazy, pampered highly paid time servers, whose high wages make difficult to sell.

        2. I think we all try to take an honest view, friend. It’s all a matter of opinion – a lot of people still see Nketiah as a player with the potential to make it, and while I appreciate some of his qualities, I just can’t see him ever developing as we’d like.
          I don’t say you’re wrong on the other two, I just believe they still have a chance because I don’t think either has to change all that much to be really effective, it’s just a question of how willing they are to make those changes.
          E.g. if JW started to get his head up more and pick those passes better, what would you think? It’s not something that will happen immediately but I don’t think it’s beyond him to make these kinds of improvements.

          1. Also, I’d agree there’s no comparison with Saka and ESR, but players develop differently and at different rates. Gnabry had some tough times in this league, and while I think the potential was always evident, I don’t think many expected him to become the monster he is for Bayern now.

          2. Fair enough Davi mate but having the ability to lift your head up in the final third is something that`s almost impossible to coach. Its a natural ability that you`re born with. Saka and ESR are perfect examples, they nearly always pick out the right pass when they get inside the box. They always have that extra little bit of time on the ball. But as you say, its all about opinion and I`d like nothing more than to see the likes of Willock and Niles prove me wrong. Its always good to see a young kid come through the ranks and establish themselves in the first team.

    3. Willock Nketiah and Maitland Niles are good players and they need games to improve…

      There will be more good and talented players coming through from the Academy every season

      Theres no way we can keep everyone….

    4. Willock has outperformed every single Arsenal midfield player in just a few short months into his loan spell. FACT

  2. That would be a mistake. I would keep him over Martin O. And 20£ for him is so low.
    Artera and Edu are idiots with the IQ of a rock.

    1. are you ok? how much would you slap on a player who aint even a starter in his team?

      again he may have a future but we need maturity in our midfield to pair ESR

      1. He Has scored again against City….Why would you sell him.He’s better than Ceballos and with Odegard unlilkely to stay i would rather keep him …..

      2. You are the one who is not OK mate. Firstly you were rudely asking if someone was OK just cos they aired their opinion.secondly you are obviously out of touch with reality cos you don’t seem to understand that Willock is actually more productive than every single arsenal player at the moment. In his last five games, he has scored five goals. Four of those against man u, tots, Liverpool and city.you really are not OK mate

      3. Willock was in front of both Saka and Smith Rowe under Emery and played regularly when Artetta first joined. This season he has been cast aside by Artetta so that he (Artetta) could play his Spanish countrymen who are not good enough. That policy has proven detrimental to the team and the club as a whole and is reflected in our current league position

      4. Okay, I admit I got carried away in stating my opinion, I do not want to disrespect MA, Edu or anyone who agrees with them and for that I sincerely apologize, sorry guys.
        Back to Willock, he is very young and fit to play mostly, homegrown/English, has 9 (3 with Arsenal in EL) and 3 assists(EL) this season (29 games), decent dribbling numbers, solid in aerial duels and tackles (check whosccored, defensive numbers are decent), seems quick to me (has this explosive run), Newcastle spell would give him confidence. He is on relatively low wage compared to others.
        His only downside was gambling with passes, but his passing accuracy is improving slowly.
        He has two years in his contract, I would like him to renew but if we cannot, at least get decent money to buy a good replacement (not Martin O.)
        I hope that make sense a little, I am okay thanks for asking. I am really sorry for the language, I hope you see my reply.

    2. What the manager went? Willock is very impresive player rather nicolas pepe,mohamed elneny,willan, first we need team sprit no player can change the team without team sprit.

  3. Sell any player that can generate good cash&channel the proceeds into making better signings than of recent&most importantly,i don’t want to see nketia,kolasinac&ceballos at arsenal next season

  4. I also think that joseph willock is our only goal scoring midfielder&if well groomed,will have a great future ahead

  5. Big mistake by Arteta if he lets willock leave on the cheap. Im not sure the article does actually say what the title says, so its a wait and see what happens. Willock and AMN have to be worth more than 20 mil anyway.

  6. If it were up to me I would get rid of Xhaka, Bellerin, Laca, Eddie, Reiss, AMN, Guendo, Lucas, Kols and not re-sign Luiz, Ode or Ceballos long before I would consider selling off Willock…unlike everyone else I mentioned Joe provides something we desperately covet…in his case it’s his legitimate potential to provide secondary scoring from the midfield

    sadly this is likely the reason why Arteta is contemplating his transfer as his brand of negative football doesn’t lend itself to having overly aggressive central midfielders in and around the box too often…now if someone offered me 30M for a player who I felt was likely a “super sub”, I would undoubtedly have a bit of a rethink

    the fact is that any team with ample funds would almost assuredly keep just such a player, as this sort of potentially valuable bench option would be looked upon as a crucial asset, especially for those teams, like ourselves, who have struggled to score, but we might not be able to afford such a luxury option

    I guess it really depends if you trust Arteta to use this money wisely, which I have mixed feelings about…the last thing we can afford to have happen is another Martinez scenario, where we sell-off a longtime asset right as they come good

    1. TRVL and they reckon at Newcastle United, that Steve Bruce is a negative manager; however look at what he has had to manage with the run of injuries he had to key players?

  7. Anyway, Willock will be sold which is good for his future. Current manager doesn’t know how to develop young players and have own preferences.

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