Arsenal may be cruising in both the Premier League and Europe this season but some of the club’s loan players are also earning their plaudits.
It was a busy summer transfer window for the Gunners with around £115million spent on five new signings, meaning plenty also departed as a result, while a number of youngsters were awarded the opportunity to impress elsewhere on a temporary basis.
More than 20 of the club’s first team and academy players earned themselves loan moves up and down the country and across Europe for this season, with Mikel Arteta so far being given plenty of food for thought following some “amazing” starts to the campaign.
Most notable of those young loanees have been English duo Charlie Patino and Folarin Balogun, who secured season-long loan moves to Blackpool and Reims, respectively.
Patino hit the headlines last season after scoring on his debut for the Gunners in their 5-1 defeat of Sunderland in the EFL Cup in December 2021 but was sent out on loan to further his professional development with the Tangerines this season.
The 19-year-old has become a regular in midfield for the Championship outfit, recording two goals and one assist in 11 league appearances. One of those goals, as well as his only assists, came in Saturday’s 4-2 victory over Lancashire rivals Preston.
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Following the game, Blackpool manager Michael Appleton branded Patino "amazing! and proclaimed he has a “big future” ahead of him at the Emirates Stadium and that the new fan favourite already shows an understanding of the game “beyond his years”.
Across the channel, fellow academy graduate Balogun is also proving his worth with French outfit Reims. The forward already has two goals and one assist in 10 games under his belt for Arsenal, but Gabriel Jesus’ arrival this summer gave him the chance to impress in Ligue 1.
So far this season, the 21-year-old already has seven goals and two assists from 12 league outings, which included strikes in his first three appearances. As a result of his early season success, he is currently averaging a better goals-per-minute ratio than Lionel Messi.
Also in Ligue 1 is left back Nuno Tavares, who has a point to prove after a difficult first campaign last season. However, he got his loan spell with Marseille off to the perfect start with three goals in his first four appearances and has also helped to keep three clean sheets.
Defender Auston Trusty, signed from Colorado Rapids in January, has played every minute of Birmingham’s 16 games in the Championship this season, scoring twice, while 18-year-old right back Brooke Norton-Cuffy has also impressed for Rotherham as they sit four points outside the play-offs
The Gunners are known for producing some of the best young talent in the country and a number of those who have been sent out on loan have already made impressive starts to the season. If they keep it up, Arteta may begin to cast his eye over them ahead of next season.
