Arsenal have set their current stall out for the transfer window in early August firmly in the departure lounge. Players are leaving swiftly, either permanently or on loan, with Bernd Leno the latest to exit.
Arsenal have also seen plenty of young promising talents leave on temporary deals. Arthur Okonkwo has joined Crewe, Ryan Alebiosu has travelled to Kilmarnock, and Mika Biereth has gone to RKC Waalwijk with seven more already on loan too.
However, a potential surprise loan move appears to be closing completion for Charlie Patino football.london understands. The England youth international already has minutes at the senior level for the Gunners and is seen as one of, if not the best talent at the academy.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta has already explained Charlie Patino shun after Arsenal cameo vs Brentford
That said, the destination of his loan spell to Blackpool has raised some concerns. I spoke to Football League commentator Guy Clarke on The Arsenal Way who had his doubts over the move.
"I don't think it's a very good move personally," Clarke said. Adding that, he thinks despite a hope of playing possession football, Patino may struggle for the ball.
"I think, going to a side who aren't going to see… I mean, they're going to want to play a possession-heavy style of football under Michael Appleton, who is a good coach and brought through a number of encouraging young players.
"You look at his Lincoln City side that lost to Blackpool in the League One play-off final a couple of seasons ago. He had Morgan Rogers on loan from Manchester City on loan on one wing and Brennan Johnson, who you've seen what he's done for Nottingham Forest, on the other.
"The two of those were excellent, but I think for a central midfield player of what 18 years of age that Charlie Patino is who has grown up at Arsenal where he will constantly have in training sessions, and probably even youth team matches seen an awful lot of the ball.
"Physically, I think it will be a huge test playing in the middle of a midfield in the Championship. It depends how realistically Arsenal are expecting him to play. If he's to start 30 games in the campaign, then I'd have thought he'd have done really well.
"But in terms of it, the physicality would be one area I wouldn't be totally convinced by. Equally, I don't think Blackpool are the best pick, they're amongst the favourites for relegation."
Strong words indeed and certainly not what supporters will want to hear. Of course, Clarke hopes his assumptions are wrong and Patino flourishes, but it is a fair assessment of a side who narrowly beat a fellow relegation candidate Reading 1-0 with only 47% of possession at home.
Arsenal loan moves to the Championship do not have the best record. Most recently, striker Tyreece John-Jules went to Blackpool and played 11 Championship games without scoring before getting injured.
Folarin Balogun failed to establish himself as a regular at Middlesbrough last season and returned to find Eddie Nketiah had renewed his deal, and the understudy forward is now expected to join Reims on loan in France. Nketiah, too had a disappointing spell with Leeds United and was recalled by Mikel Arteta in January 2020 as one of his first actions at the club.
That said, Daniel Ballard was recently sold for over £2 million after a solid spell with Millwall. He's now at Sunderland.
Emile Smith-Rowe famously went to Huddersfield for six months, and this crucial step enabled him a great chance at regular senior football, from which he then ascended into the first team. Patino will be looking to follow in his teammate's footsteps in this regard and hope any fears are quelled early on.
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