Reiss Nelson proved at the weekend just how successful the Arsenal loan system can be after scoring twice and claiming an assist as a substitute in the 5-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest.
The 22-year-old spent last season in the Netherlands with Feyenoord but has had to be patient for a chance since returning to the Emirates Stadium. A muscle injury sustained at the beginning of the campaign kept him on the sidelines for a couple of months and it's taken him a while to find his groove.
Perhaps Nelson's cameo appearance against Forest is a sign of things to come for many members of the Arsenal loan army who will be hoping for a chance under Mikel Arteta next season and with that in mind football.london takes a look at how they got on this weekend.
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Of course, following last week's horrific events in Italy, Pablo Mari won't be in action for AC Monza as they host Bologna on Monday night. The good news is that the defender has been discharged from the hospital following surgery to reconstruct damaged back muscles after being injured in a supermarket stabbing in Milan.
Not for the first time this season, Auston Trusty was on the scoresheet for Birmingham City as they recorded an impressive win over Queens Park Rangers. It's now three goals in 17 Championship appearances for the USA international and he might be giving Arteta some food for thought.
In France, Nuno Tavares didn't have the best of preparations ahead of Tuesday's Champions League decider against Tottenham Hotspur as he was a second half substitute in Marseille's 2-2 draw with Strasbourg - a game they were winning 2-0 - and he was arguably at fault for the two goals.
After seeing Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe all score for PSG on Saturday, Folarin Balogun lost a little ground in the Ligue 1 top scorer race as Reims drew 0-0 away at Brest, whilst Nicolas Pepe scored for Nice in the Europa Conference League win over Partizan Belgrade and then played 90 minutes of their 2-1 win over Lorient three days later.
Rounding off the Gunners' first-team players out on loan, Arthur Okonkwo was in goal as Crewe Alexandra lost 3-0 at Barrow, Runar Alex Runarsson kept his first clean sheet in Alanyaspor colours as they beat Gaziantep 2-0, but Ainsley Maitland-Niles couldn't help Southampton avoid defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace.
Tyreece John-Jules was arguably the pick of the Arsenal youngsters gaining experience in the EFL as he scored in Ipswich Town's 4-4 draw with Charlton Athletic. In the Championship, Charlie Patino featured in Blackpool's win over Coventry City, Harry Clarke started Stoke City's 3-1 loss at Norwich City, Brooke Norton-Cuffy tasted defeat whilst in action for Rotherham and Salah-Eddine didn't feature in Hull City's loss at home to Blackburn Rovers.
Down in League Two, Mazeed Ogungbo returned to the Crawley Town matchday squad for the first time in six games as they drew 1-1 with Bradford. Having parted company with former Arsenal Under 23 coach Kevin Betsy earlier in the month, it's looking like that decision has been vindicated with Town up to 19th in the table.
Tim Akinola didn't feature for National League side Chesterfield in their 2-0 win over Boreham Wood, but Tom Smith kept goal as Bromley were beaten by Maidenhead United and Ovie Ejeheri kept another clean sheet as Chelmsford City thumped Eastbourne Borough 5-0 at home.
North of the border, Alex Kirk helped Ayr United beat Arbroath 2-0 in the Scottish Championship and Ryan Alebiosu was a substitute in Kilmarnock's 1-0 loss against St Johnstone.
Arsenal have as many as five youngsters out on loan at clubs across Europe - mainly in the Netherlands - but Mika Biereth didn't play as RKC Waalwijk lost 3-0 at FC Twente and Omar Rekik missed Sparta Rotterdam's 3-1 win over Fortuna Sittard with a muscle injury. Although Nikolaj Moller did lead the line for Den Bosch as they beat NAC Breda.
In Spain's second tier, Marcelo Flores responded to not making Mexico's preliminary World Cup squad by claiming an assist as Real Oviedo were beaten by Alaves and Miguel Azeez was an unused substitute in Ibiza FC's 2-0 loss at Burgos CF.
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