Five Arsenal players to follow Jon Toral out on loan

In many ways, Jon Toral is the living, breathing example representing just how hard it is to infiltrate Arsenal’s first team picture in 2016.

Signed in tandem with Hector Bellerin from Barcelona back in 2011, Bellerin is recently returning to the Gunners’ pre-season camp after a spell at Euro 2016 for Spain while Toral has just earned his third career loan switch to La Liga outfit Granada on Tuesday.

Ultimately, Toral might’ve already made his first Arsenal appearance had it not been for the fact that he plays as an attacking midfielder or winger – a position in which Arsene Wenger can already call upon an abundance of talent in front of the 21-year-old Spaniard.

This isn’t to say that Toral can’t eventually make the breakthrough given the fact he has impressed wherever he’s performed on loan thus far, sweeping up a hat-trick of awards at Birmingham City last term where he won the Players’ and Supporters’ Player of the Season award, not to mention achieving the club’s Goal of the Season prize too.

But over the course of 2016 and 2017, Toral will be playing his football not at Emirates Stadium but back in his native Spain with Andalusian side Granada.

With this in mind, we take a look at five other Arsenal fringe stars who are the most likely to follow him out on loan over the course of the next month or so.

Calum Chambers

Ask Arsenal supporters what they think of Calum Chambers and most will admit that he has talent but would certainly benefit from a loan spell at the same time.

As the 21-year-old looks around, he’ll know that some players his age were already competing at the highest level at Euro 2016 over the summer but frustratingly for the defender, he is a bench player at best right now.

Only receiving first team chances under Arsene Wenger when players are injured or whether it’s a lesser game, the time seems right for Chambers to move to a lower half Premier League side to further build upon his promising reputation while playing week in, week out.

A lot will depend on whether Arsenal can get in another centre back before agreeing to let Chambers out on loan you’d imagine.

Jeff Reine-Adelaide

There will be no Emirates Cup this summer with the squeezed start to the 2016/17 Premier League season coming as a result of Euro 2016 fulfilling much of the summer programme.

However, in last season’s tournament at Emirates Stadium, it was young Frenchman Jeff Reine-Adelaide who took much of the plaudits after a fantastic performance against Wolfsburg whereby the teenager brought out the party pieces while skinning Kevin De Bruyne to boot.

Only seen once since in a professional game against Sunderland in the FA Cup last term, Reine-Adelaide is still even behind the likes of Alex Iwobi in Arsene Wenger’s pecking order on the wing so it will be interesting to see whether Arsenal allow him out on loan this term.

You’d imagine that a Championship outfit or Ligue 1 side would suit.

Joel Campbell

It’s difficult to say whether Costa Rica international Joel Campbell has a future at Arsenal.

After such a stunted start to his Gunners career with the winger shipped out on loan numerous times while waiting for a work permit, he finally got his big chance last season.

However, the feeling is that Campbell is one of those players who is much more important to his national team than at club level.

A player who can go on mini hot streaks, Campbell was ultimately not consistent enough to stay in Arsene Wenger’s injury hit squad week in, week out and if he is not to be sold permanently this summer, you could see a loan switch to Galatasaray or Besiktas coming to fruition.

Krystian Bielik

In January 2015, Arsenal completed the signature of highly-rated Polish youth international Krystian Bielik from Legia Warsaw.

One of those typical Arsene Wenger moves for a star of tomorrow when most Gunners fans were craving ready-made reinforcements, Bielik is still something of an unknown quantity having only made one first team appearance.

In truth, Bielik was one of the only plus points from a terrible 3-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday in the Capital One Cup last season with the Pole making a cameo where he looked far more impressive than the starting Glen Kamara.

At this stage in his career, it’s Under-21 football with Arsenal versus real experience in the Football League and surely Arsene Wenger will realise the merit in a move to the Championship much like Isaac Hayden and Chuba Akpom at Hull City last season.

Serge Gnabry

If ever there was a transfer that just went horribly for all involved last season, it was Serge Gnabry’s season-long loan spell to West Bromwich Albion.

Not getting anything of a look in from Tony Pulis while making a SINGLE appearance for the Baggies, Arsenal fans should’ve known a flair player such as Gnabry wouldn’t have flourished under a manager Gunners fans love to label as boring and one-dimensional.

Despite Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott enduring forgettable 2015/16 campaigns, you still feel Alex Iwobi is ahead of Gnabry in the pecking order who needs to make another loan spell work to remind Arsene Wenger of his undoubted potential.