How are Arsenal's loan players getting on away from the Emirates?

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How are Arsenal's loan players getting on away from the Emirates?

By Oscar Maung-Haley

The international break gives us a chance to take stock of how Arsenal’s out-on-loan players are getting on at their respective clubs.

Here’s a look at how the away-from-the-Emirates Gunners are faring on the continent.

William Saliba

It’s great for the Gunners that Benjamin White and Gabriel have seemingly formed a strong partnership at the back for Mikel Arteta’s side.

But it cannot be overstated how much the club has butchered the handling of William Saliba’s time at the Emirates.

Signed for a whopping £27m in 2019, Saliba has yet to feature for the Arsenal senior side, being loaned out back out to Saint-Etienne for the 2019/20 season.

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Upon his return last season, he was left out of the first team squad entirely, being loaned out in January to Nice.

Again, this season, the 20-year-old France U21 international finds himself at Marseille in Ligue 1.

And this season, his 3rd loan move has more than paid dividends.

Saliba has featured regularly for Jorge Sampaoli’s side, starting 12 of their 13 Ligue 1 games, helping them to five clean sheets in the process.

Recently, Saliba put in an impervious performance against Paris Saint Germain, pulling off a last-ditch tackle that thwarted a late Kylian Mbappe chance to help his loan side to a 0-0 draw.

He’s clearly a talent. Arsenal played big bucks for him. They have to find a way to utilise him come next season otherwise he could be headed out the door.

Matteo Guendouzi

Another Arsenal Frenchman who finds himself in Marseille, Matteo Guendouzi has also starred on the south coast.
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So far this season, the 22-year-old has made 11 appearances in all competitions and even found himself included in the French senior squad following an injury to Corentin Tolisso.

Guendouzi’s talent was never in question, he was clearly gifted.

But his relationship with the club looks to have been fractured beyond repair.

But you can never say never and Guendouzi could certainly find his way back into the first-team squad if he and the club come together as one.

Hector Bellerin

Long-standing right-back Hector Bellerin made the switch to Real Betis in the summer, having fallen out of favour at the Emirates.

The Spanish international has made eight appearances in all competitions for the Seville based side, helping them get off to an incredible start in La Liga.

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Through 13 games, Bellerin’s new side sit fifth in the table and are one of the league’s most entertaining outfits to watch.

He could return to the Emirates in the summer and compete for a place in the Gunners starting line-up again but with Takehiro Tomiyasu having hit the ground running, it will be hard for Bellerin.


The rest


Lucas Torreira moved to Fiorentina on loan in the summer and has made four appearances for them since his arrival.

Torreira’s signing initially looked like a promising one for the Gunners but his career in North London has petered out. He will almost certainly depart the Emirates this coming summer.

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Reiss Nelson has made three appearances in all competitions for Feyenoord.

A groin injury prevented him from taking part in the action for the first few weeks following his move.

But in his last game against AZ Alkmaar, he managed to produce an assist that helped Feyenoord to a dramatic last-minute win in the Eredivisie.

And finally, while Konstantinos Mavropanos has not played for Arsenal since the 2019/20 season, he has become a regular fixture for VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.

This season, the Greek has found the back of the net four times in 11 games…not bad for a centre-half!

PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES 


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