It's taken a while but Marquinhos has finally made his Norwich City debut and it was well worth the wait.
The Gunners youngster, a £3m signing from Sao Paulo last summer, became the latest member of this season's lengthy loan army by joining the Championship outfit on deadline day in the January transfer window in a move designed to aid his development which had stalled somewhat.
However, there had been some concerns beginning to creep in amongst the Arsenal faithful with regard to the lack of game time Marquinhos was receiving after making the move to Carrow Road as he didn't feature against Burnley, Bristol City, Wigan Athletic and Birmingham City.
READ MORE: Why Gabriel shouted at Jorginho as Mikel Arteta's Arsenal January transfer decision pays off
The reality of the situation was that the Brazilian sustained an injury very soon into his loan spell which kept him out of action for over a week and he has been eased back by Norwich head coach David Wagner ever since resuming full training.
Better late than never, Marquinhos was handed his debut against Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon - 25 days after completing his move to Norfolk - and he made an immediate impact by claiming the assist for Gabriel Sara to break the deadlock before getting on the scoresheet himself in a stunning four-minute period towards the end of the first-half.
Still searching for fitness and match sharpness, the teenager was replaced just before the hour mark but, in truth, he more than played his part to ensure the Canaries remain in the hunt for a play-off place and that earned him praise from Wagner in addition to a word of warning.
"It was a great start for him – a goal on his debut and an assist too," Wagner said. "He has settled here really well but has had to wait for his chance. He has shown his quality today but we have to remember he has only just turned 19 and there is still a lot of work to do."
A goal and assist on debut is a nice reminder of what Marquinhos did on his competitive Arsenal bow earlier in the season, as he provided the same contribution in the 2-1 Europa League group phase win over FC Zurich.
Although having barely featured in the Premier League following that impressive display back in September, coupled with the fact that game time would have been even harder to come by after Leandro Trossard's arrival, not to mention once Gabriel Jesus returns to full fitness, a loan move was the best decision for both parties.
Now up and running for Norwich, it will be interesting to see how Marquinhos fares between now and the end of the season as there's a chance he could end up saving his parent club millions of pounds in the summer transfer window in search of a back-up option for Bukayo Saka.
READ NEXT:
Every word Mikel Arteta said on Trossard's display, Saka decision and Arsenal January transfers
Thomas Partey, Jesus, Saka: Arsenal injury news and return dates ahead of Everton clash
Why William Saliba fumed at Gabriel and pushed Arsenal defender after crucial win at Leicester
'No longer a soft touch' - National media react to Arsenal's crucial win vs Leicester
Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: All the latest news, rumours and gossip from the Emirates Stadium
