Loaning players out is always an interesting topic, one that is delicate, but very important for the future of many young stars. At a club like Arsenal, the youngest stars have had a great chance to impress on the big stage, but with trophies now once again an integral part of the club’s season ambitions, opportunities outside of the Capital One Cup may become much more difficult to come by.
So, who should Arsenal look to loan out next season?
We asked our followers on Twitter and received generally the same responses; Carl Jenkinson, Gedion Zelalem, Serge Gnabry, Chuba Akpom and Yaya Sanogo were amongst the most popular names.
Loans can be two things, career building or career delaying, and Carl Jenkinson is experiencing the latter. At 23-years-old, despite being relatively young, he is at a point where he should now be looking to nail down his position in the team, but with competition in the form of Mathieu Debuchy and the impressive Hector Bellerin, another loan move looks certain, with West Ham once again on the cards.
Jenkinson is a wonderfully gifted player; a good defender and offers a lot going forward, as well as the dressing room camaraderie that he provides, Arsene Wenger does not want to let him go and it appears that any loan move Jenkinson makes will be after signing a new and improved contract, something similar to that of Joel Campbell’s loan move to Villarreal last season.
Francis Coquelin is a fantastic example that working hard behind the scenes works, he came back to Arsenal at 23-years-old and impressed in a position that needed filling, but Jenkinson’s position in the side is arguably Arsenal’s strongest, so will his hard work pay off, or will he just be another good option for Arsene Wenger to have at his disposal, alongside the ageing Mathieu Debuchy and 20-year-old, young starlet Hector Bellerin?
Loan likelihood: 95%
Another interesting player to look at is Gedion Zelalem; an 18-year-old central midfielder with bags of talent and skill, we’ve all seen the flicks and tricks from the international games for the USA, but it’s Zelalem’s passing ability and cool, calm control of the ball which stands out most.
Yet to make a senior appearance for the club, battling for a place in the side against the likes of Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla and more may be a task too difficult at the moment, but would he profit from leaving on loan next season? Yes, but not to a Premier League club.
Despite Zelalem’s ability and bags of potential, that’s all it is at the moment; potential. A loan move to a smaller club, possibly a Championship side could be the catalyst for his future success.
Zelalem will certainly have a future at Arsenal, but that future does not start today, the youngster with a bright future needs to leave on a season-long loan in order to get some competitive football under his belt.
Loan likelihood: 60%
Recently linked to West Bromwich Albion, Serge Gnabry has become somewhat the forgotten man in North London. Despite being only 19-years-old, it feels like Gnabry has been around forever but hasn’t ever put his marker on the game. A mix of injuries, inconsistency and pure competition are just some of the reasons the German u21 international is yet to explode on to the scene.
Gnabry made his Arsenal debut aged 16, but has not gone on to have the impact so many expected, unlike the Theo Walcott’s and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s of the world who have had stand out games for the club, of course both older than Gnabry though.
What remains certain is that Gnabry is a player with bags of talent, pace and a final ball; something that Wenger himself admits he is an admirer of: “I’m convinced he has the pace, the dribbling capacity and the physical potential to play wide and these kind of players are very important in the modern game.
“Of course he will certainly end up in a few years centrally because he can give a final ball as well. But we have congestion there, with many players who can play centrally.”
So, where should Gnabry be loaned to? A host of Premier League teams, such as West Brom will certainly be interested, and they should be, because with consistent football, he will be a valuable member of any side. Wenger must now decide if he is to keep the German and thrust him straight into competition next season, with the likelihood of a season on the bench high, or to send him out to somewhere that he will get a full season under his belt. I would prefer the latter.
Loan likelihood: 80%
Very young and very early to call such a comparison, but many onlookers and supporters of the club have labeled the young talent that is Chuba Akpom ‘the next Thierry Henry’.
As cringy and off-putting as such labels are, if Akpom turns out to be half the player that the Frenchman was, the Gunners have one hell of a player on their hands.
Akpom has been loaned out on three occasions, all very short term loans where the 19-year-old was used in bit-part roles, but Wenger has shown his willingness to loan the striker out to aid his development, and there has never been a shortage of clubs interested in him. Is he ready to play up front for a Premier League side? It seems unlikely.
A striker’s role is extremely important to any side, goals are exactly what saves teams and taking an unproven star of the future on loan is very risky at such a high level, clubs like Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich who have all just been promoted to the Premier League would be taking a huge gamble in taking Akpom to their clubs and he would definitely not be a starter, so the Championship seems a good level for him, somewhere that he can go and get consisent, competitive football.
Scoring goals is the biggest boost of confidence any striker can hope for, Akpom will go to a Championship side and score goals, without any doubt.
Loan likelihood: 90%
A striker who needs goals is a certain Yaya Sanogo. Arsene Wenger is a keen admirer of him and we’ve seen what he is capable of, scoring four goals in last season’s Emirates Cup as well as a well taken goal against German giants Borussia Dortmund.
But, we’ve also seen what he can’t do, which is dribble with the ball, find the positions in front of goal, and fill his teammates with confidence. An injury ravaged career means that Sanogo is yet to show his best to the Arsenal faithful, but having impressed at a number of levels for the French national side, alongside the likes of Paul Pogba, it may be smart to wait for Sanogo’s development to really pick up.
22-years-old, Sanogo is three years older than Akpom, and was loaned to Crystal Palace last season where he managed to score only one goal, a strike that came in the FA Cup against Southampton.
At 6’4, the former Auxerre man is an intimidating figure on the pitch and is likely one with bags of potential, but until he moves past the horrific injury issues, with the guidance of the genius that is Arsene Wenger, a fantastic career may be on the cards.
Having loaned Sanogo to Palace last season, Wenger said that Sanogo “needs to play” and went on to say: “For me, he needs to play in the Premier League. Then we’ll know much more about him. I think he’s ready – it’s a very interesting challenge for him to have that responsibility. It’s part of the development of the player.”
Sanogo will only be loaned to a Premier League side, which is exactly what he needs, but does he have the talent to score goals in the toughest league in the world? We’ll leave that to Sanogo.
Loan likelihood: 90%
Arsene Wenger is a master of his craft and will have a clear idea in his mind about what he wants to do with the array of talents at his disposal. Let’s remember that he once loaned out Jack Wilshere to Bolton, who absolutely thrived, and more recently Francis Coquelin to Charlton. So, whether the boss wants to develop the current crop of talent himself straight away or loan them out to go and get some playing time is something many Arsenal fans will be excited to find out.
Who do you think Arsenal should loan out? Let us know in the comments section below, or to get involved with the suggestions next time, please follow us on Twitter @HighburyClock.
