As many as eleven players left the Emirates on loan this season in search of first-team football. Three of them are guaranteed not to return. Matteo Guendouzi will be joining Marseille permanently at the expiration of his current deal, citing Champions League football as the deciding factor in his decision. Konstantinos Mavropanos will remain at Stuttgart, who secured Bundesliga survival on the final day of the season in dramatic fashion. And North Macedonian goalkeeper Dejan Iliev joined Slovakian side Trencin back in January. But The Gunners do have talent in abundance returning to North London this summer. You get the feeling that for some of them, it’s their final chance to impress Mikel Arteta.
Leaving the club on loan can be seen as a negative, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Emile Smith-Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Mohamed Elneny are all shining examples of successfully breaking into the first team after spending a period of time away from the club. Eight players could be returning to the Emirates over the next month, depending on whether the club they’re currently at decide to make a permanent move for them. But who of them can break into the first team?
Who can push for a place?
The first candidate for a place in the matchday squad has to be William Saliba. The French defender played in all but four of Marseille’s games last season as they finished second behind PSG in Ligue 1 – where he also won the young player of the year award — and also reached the final four of the Europa Conference League. The 21-year old has even managed to force his way into Didier Deschamps’ France squad this term. One problem that The Gunners may have is that Saliba himself has stated that he would like to follow in Guendouzi’s footsteps by remaining at the Velodrome on a permanent basis.
You also get the feeling that it’s make-or-break time for young English talents Reiss Nelson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles. Both players reached the final of the Europa Conference league this season with Feyenoord and Roma respectively. It was Maitland-Niles whose side ran out victorious, defeating Nelson’s side 1-0 in the Tirana showpiece. It was a victory that gave manager Jose Mourinho great satisfaction, after his former club Spurs were handed one of the most shocking results in recent memory, losing away at Slovenian side NS Mura and exiting at the group stage. Unfortunately, Arsenal’s young utility man didn’t impress in the Italian capital, becoming somewhat of a bit-part player whereas Nelson, on the other hand, did impress. He appeared 33 times, netted four goals and provided seven assists.
Another two players who excelled in their time outside of England were Hector Bellerin and Lucas Torreira. Both of the clubs they were representing also had perhaps the greatest seasons in their recent history. Wing-back Bellerin — who has already made 239 for Arsenal — returned to Spain for the first time since leaving Barcelona’s La Masia academy over a decade ago. He featured 32 times for Real Betis as they won the Copa Del Rey, their first trophy in 17 years. He has made it clear that he would like to remain in Andalucia, and if he were to return to The Emirates, he would likely be the third choice right-back behind Takehiro Tomiyasu and Cedric Soares. Tenacious Uruguayan Torreira helped Fiorentina to a 7th place finish in Seria A, securing European football for the first time in five years, as well as a Coppa Italia semifinal. The holding midfielder would be behind Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Mohamed Elneny in the pecking order should he decide to remain, but he has impressed the Emirates faithful in the past, and may do it again.
Young American defender Auston Trusty will be arriving in London for the first time at the expiry of his loan deal with Colorado Rapids and will be hoping to make a good impression. The same can’t be said for his counterpart Pablo Mari, or Icelandic goalkeeper Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson, who could both be shown the exit door over the coming months.
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