Arsenal under-21s were excellent against Northampton Town on Tuesday night as Mehmet Ali's side came back from a goal behind to win 3-1. The victory means that the Gunners go joint-top of their Papa Johns trophy group.
Lino Souza was particularly impressive for the young Gunners down the left-hand side. He wasn't afraid to receive the ball and was a constant threat when in attack, as well as a defensive presence for the Gunners.
He showed that he was ready for first-team football on a physical and technical level. With Mikel Arteta's options packed at left-back currently, a loan move could be the ideal option, as Souza has shown that he could be ready.
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Despite Oleksandr Zinchenko starting at left-back in Arsenal's 3-1 victory over Spurs, he has been absent for the Gunners' last four fixtures against FK Bodo/Glimt, Liverpool and Leeds United due to a calf injury. Zinchenko had featured in every Premier League match for the Gunners since making the transfer switch from Manchester City until he was ruled out with an injury against Fulham in Arsenal's fourth game of the season.
But in Zinchenko's absence, Tierney has slotted into the left-back role and has proven to be a more than a useful alternative as the Gunners sit at the top of the Premier League, which Tierney has had a major part to play in.
Takehiro Tomiyasu has also put himself into the mix, as in the last two Premier League games, the Japanese international has started as a left-back. This could give the green light for Souza to prove himself with a loan move further down the English pyramid.
Nuno Tavares had large spells where he played in the Premier League in the previous campaign. However, he was always regarded as a back-up to Kieran Tierney as despite the youngster hitting good form during a point in the season, he was unable to progress due to the Scotsman taking his place whenever he was available for selection.
And now, with a good performance against PSG to add his loan CV, this could increase his price in the summer if Arsenal are to sell him. The Gunners were said to have valued Tavares at more than three times what they bought him for. A €30million (£25.5million) valuation has been set on the full-back, and the club prefer a dry loan if he is to leave only temporarily, which is why he ended up at Marseille.
Another reason to potentially sell Tavares is due to the performances of Sousa. The youngster has shown that he has the capabilities to deal with the physicality of men's football, and he is already highly rated by the Arsenal hierarchy. This was proven as Sousa travelled with the squad to Switzerland to gain senior experience ahead of Arsenal's first Europa League game of the season against Fc Zurich.
"It's come on greatly," former under-21s coach Kevin Betsy told football.london of Sousa's tactical development in April. "Lino hadn't played for six months before he joined us. That's a long period of time to be out of football for anyone, especially a development player. Then he's come in and we've managed to integrate him well, the periodisation in his training has been excellent, we managed to get him up to match speed, and he's performed well to a good level.
"Tactically there are a lot of differences between where he's been playing and what they've asked him to do recently. They developed him very well, but it's just a different style. We need to keep using the matches as training. It's not just a case of in a match, you let them get on with it, and they're going to know everything, we train them in the match as well. All these little things he'll improve and develop. He scored the last time he was here and had some good actions today. Lots of things to improve, and he's been a good signing."
His representatives revealed to football.london in the summer that his connections with Betsy from his time at the age group level with England had been a factor in the move. The 17-year-old came for the project at Arsenal rather than any particular coach and is keen to push on next season.
With the youngster now establishing himself as a regular for the Arsenal under-21s, his progress to becoming a first-team player is the next focus. His impressive performances against lower-tier sides in the Papa Johns Trophy highlight that he could be ready for this step, and a loan move is set to happen not in the too distant future.
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