Five players that could feature more for Arsenal next season

Joe Willock

Five players that could feature more for Arsenal next season

By Oscar Maung-Haley

With transfer funds potentially scarce this summer, here are five current players that could help Arsenal improve upon their woeful 2020-21 campaign.


Joe Willock


With a Premier League Player of the Month award on his mantlepiece, Joe Willock is one name who achieve big things in an Arsenal shirt for the upcoming season.
Willock was instrumental in helping Newcastle United to safety last season, scoring eight goals in just 14 appearances.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe and Alexandre Lacazette were the only Gunners to score more Premier League goals than the 21-year-old this season.
Offering a level of dynamism in the centre of the park, Willock would add a goalscoring threat to Arsenal’s midfield.
But if he is to progress further, he must be afforded a consistent amount of game-time.
Additionally, given that Willock played primarily in a three-man midfield, and Arsenal have tended to stick with a two-man pivot, there is every chance that Willock might end up being a square peg in a round hole.
If the Gunners aren’t willing to find a spot for him in and around the first team squad, they should loan him out to allow him to continue his development.

Folarin Balogun

One player who could feature more next season is Folarin Balogun. The 19-year-old forward penned a new four-year deal in April and is one of the Gunner’s hottest prospects.
While he has yet to make his Premier League debut, the striker, who was born in New York City, has scored twice in Europe for Arsenal against Dundalk and Molde. Clearly, there is bags of potential with Balogun.
But like Willock, he must see the field in order to progress.
While Balogun has admitted he’s gunning for first-team football at the Emirates, things might not work out as smoothly as he’d like.
With other strikers in his way, the best solution for him might be to go out on loan and develop his game, ready to come back a better player.

GM

Gabriel Martinelli

An injury-hit campaign hindered Gabriel Martinelli’s chances on the pitch last season.
And the Brazilian forward will be hoping that 2021 keeps him off the treatment table.
In his debut season, the 2019-2020 campaign, the 20-year-old scored an impressive 10 goals in 26 games.
While only three of them came in the Premier League, he showed that he belonged in and around Arsenal’s squad.
Had it not been for the injuries he suffered this season, which limited his goal tally to just two, he would almost certainly have been given more minutes.
And with Arsenal looking for contributions from their youngsters in the wake of a pandemic-hit transfer budget, Martinelli could be a key player in Arsenal’s future.

William Saliba


Any appearances for William Saliba next season would be an improvement given that he is yet to make his senior debut for the Gunners.

Saliba had a decent second half of the season on loan at Nice, helping them to a ninth-place finish in Ligue 1, making 20 appearances.

Perhaps alarmingly, Arsenal are rumoured to be open to letting Saliba go this summer, just two years after signing the French U20 international for a whopping £27m.

Given the outlay, it seems almost unthinkable that Arsenal would move the 20-year-old on without seeing him play a single second of senior first team football.

But clearly, there is something that Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s senior management have seen to give them cause for concern.


Reiss Nelson


21-year-old Reiss Nelson is the final name on our list. During the 2020-21 campaign, Nelson featured for Arsenal just nine times, scoring one goal in the Europa League.

Hampered by injuries last season, Nelson’s first team chances were dampened by Nicolas Pepe’s resurgent form, as well as the emergence of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe.

But a new season brings new opportunities and with Aubameyang and Willian not getting any younger, Nelson could be afforded more game time due to their increasing age.


Photo Credits: Getty Images









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