Whilst Arsenal fans will be waiting to see what comes of the latest rumours regarding potential incomers to the Emirates, it’s actually likely we will see a few more faces going out first.
Yesterday Arsenal confirmed that Tafari Moore, a 19 year old right back, was leaving the club on loan to join Dutch side FC Utrecht. Now it seems that Arsenal are lining up a loan move for another highly promising young gunner, in the form of English winger Chris Willock.
Willock had featured a few times for the Gunners during pre-season and despite only the few cameo appearances, he seemed lively and energetic alongside the more regular first team players. According to reports, it is fellow London based side Brentford FC who are lining up a loan bid for Willock, who will be the West Londerers fourth loan signing from Arsenal in as many years.
Brentford seem to be building up a relatively strong relationship with Arsenal regarding taking young players out on loan to build up their experience of competitive football. Brentford have previously signed Szczesny, Toral and Akpom all on loan, and all have gone on to be relatively impressive with The Bees, Szczesny and Toral especially. Szczesny was praised massively by his loan club upon the end of his contract and it is understood that his performances at Brentford were what gave Wenger the confidence in the Polish shotstopper, before he was forced into his debut with injures to our regular keepers.
Willock however will be looking to make a fresh approach and will hopefully show his presence in the Championship by chipping in with plenty of goals and assists. At 18 years old, Willock is very promising for his age and even teammate Jack Wilshere has been highlighting some of Willock’s talents. Wilshere previously said:
“I’ve played with Chris for a few years in training and last year he came on tour. I think he has improved, he has become stronger and he is one of those players that have a natural ability running with the ball. He can take contact well if someone smashes into him. He has got great balance… if Chris gets his chance I’m sure he will take it.”
Let’s hope that Willock can gather plenty of experience out on loan, before returning to Arsenal with confidence that he can compete for a position alongside the more regular first team players!