When Jon Toral arrived at Arsenal from La Masia all those years ago along with Hector Bellerin, we thought that the half-English lad was the most promising, but we all know now that Toral was held back by injury while Bellerin has gone on to become first choice at the Emirates.
But it looks like the two will be reunited again over the summer and in pre-season back at Arsenal, and it will probably be Toral’s last chance to show Wenger that he can still make it in the Premier League. He has had a very successful loan year at Birmingham,scoring 8 goals and chalking up 3 assists from midfield, but he admitted he has no real idea what will happen next season.
In his exit interview from the Blues, Toral was asked what the next step in his career would be, and he replied: “I’m not sure. I’ll go back to Arsenal and then we’ll decide from there. I’ll play pre-season there and see what the future holds for me.”
Obviously they then asked if he would be happy to return to Birmingham again for the next campaign,but the 21 year-old remained non-committal. “I‘d have nothing against that after my experience here this season, because I have had a wonderful time and enjoyed it. But I need to talk to Arsenal and we’ll decide what’s best for me?”
Arsenal have had practically a full team of players out on loan this season, and Toral has probably been one of the most successful,but has he proved himself good enough to be a Gunner?