Arsenal reporter, Charles Watts has delivered an update on the career progress of Charlie Patino and says the midfielder might be in line to finally get his Arsenal debut.
He had been tipped to play for the Gunners in the third round of the Carabao Cup against Wimbledon.
However, Mikel Arteta didn’t give him the chance to earn his first senior appearance for the Gunners in that game.
Arsenal will face Sunderland in the next round of the competition and Watts suggests the game could be the perfect match for Patino to finally play for the club.
He said on his YouTube channel: “Some good news on Charlie Patino, he made his return [on Monday] after that ankle injury for the Under-23s.
“I think he’ll certainly have one eye on that Sunderland game in the Carabao Cup quarter-final coming up at the Emirates. I think that we might see Patino involved in that one.
“The idea is certainly for next season for him to be in and around the first-team picture, but you kind of want to integrate him before that. [Arteta] resisted the urge against Wimbledon.
“Then Patino was injured for the game against Leeds when he might have been involved. He’ll certainly be pushing, there will certainly be some people behind the scenes at Arsenal, I think, who will be pushing Mikel to maybe get him involved in that game.
Just Arsenal Opinion
Patino is highly-rated and has been talked about for a long time now.
I am sure several Arsenal fans want to see him play for the club eventually so that we can understand the surrounding hype.
However, there is no need to rush him into the first-team fold and the club needs to ensure he develops well and under less pressure.
It would be exciting to watch him, but the team is doing well without him so far, and we can be patient for him to play at the right time.
