The majority of Arsenal’s loan players picked up an impressive amount of playing time this weekend, as they helped kick off their new clubs 2015/16 campaign.
Arsene Wenger has made a big statement to the Arsenal supporters this season, after sending out six of his first team players with the aim of picking up regular football.
That decision tells us that we have a club capable of relying on a number of characters already in the first team, and the rising stars of the youth development can gain vital experience somewhere else.
However, there was no appearance from defender, Carl Jenkinson, who was unable to play against his parent club as West Ham won 2-0 at the Emirates.
Also waiting to make an appearance for their new side is Serge Gnabry, who is predicted to start on the bench tonight as West Brom take on Manchester City.
This weekend saw five Arsenal players pull on a new shirt and Fresh Arsenal have picked out the performances those loanee’s to give you the lowdown on how they’re settling in with their new clubs.
Chuba Akpom
On loan at Hull City, Akpom is possibly the most exciting prospect of the Arsenal players spending time away from the Emirates.
The 19-year-old opened his account with the Tigers after an encouraging display throughout the 83 minutes he played.
Akpom struck on the 73rd minute to give his new club a 2-0 victory in their Championship opener, after dropping down from England’s top division.
The striker picked up a WhoScored rating of 7.97 and impressed manager Steve Bruce, who is a big fan of working on the development of young footballers.
Akpom lined up alongside Nikica Jelavic, an experienced striker at the age of 29, and that’s a likely pairing you will see for the majority of the season.
After failing to perform in loan spells at Brentford, Coventry and Ipswich, the English youth international has adapted well to life in the Championship so far.
Isaac Hayden
Hayden was also celebrating in an orange and black shirt come the final whistle, as he too made his first appearance for Hull City.
Arsenal’s Under-21 captain linked up with The Tigers in a defensive midfield position, having played as a centre back for the majority of his career.
And despite his first half yellow card, the 20-year-old displayed an impressive amount of confidence as City beat Huddersfield 2-0.
Standing at 6ft 4in, Hayden played the full 90 minutes next to former Spurs midfielder, Tom Huddlestone, who the youngster can learn a lot from this year.
Hayden has been a promising Gunner having played in every youth level since Under-16 with the England national team.
Arsene Wenger hopes Hayden can adapt to being just as vocal in a senior side, as he begins to make the transition between the two levels of football.
Jon Toral
After making the 27-man squad for Arsenal’s trip to Singapore, it was a touch back down to earth for Toral with his new Birmingham side.
It was a dream start to his loan spell though, as the 20-year-old leaped onto an inviting cross to head home The Blues’ second goal in their 2-1 victory over Reading.
Playing as an influential midfielder, Toral played 71 minutes on the left hand side of the attack, having put his new club 2-0 instantly after the second half began.
Just one minute and 48 seconds in the second spell, Toral rose to get on the end of a Clayton Donaldson cross, where he then buried it into the back of the net.
Brought over from Spain as an academy graduate, Toral has been waiting to get his chance in a first team shirt for quite some time.
And there was no stopping the youngster during the Championship clubs opening fixture, as a late penalty save from the home side meant Birmingham would be sitting at towards the top of the table at full-time.
Daniel Crowley
As a midfielder that is tipped to follow in the footsteps of Jack Wilshere , Crowley was an exciting addition to League One’s Barnsley.
The 18-year-old played 57 minutes for his new side on Saturday afternoon, with him instantly slotting in to the central midfield role.
Barnsley suffered a 3-1 defeat in their away trip to Chesterfield, but Crowley will be sure to take several positives on the bus trip home.
Before heading out to League One for the season, Crowley attended the pre-season tour of Singapore, and the likeliness to Jack Wilshere’s style of play is eye-opening.
Wenger did a similar thing with Wilshere, sending him out to Bolton and now he is one of England and the Gunners’ standout names on the team sheet.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Maitland-Niles played 82 minutes of Ipswich’s 2-2 draw with Brentford, making an instant impression with the Championship side.
The 17-year-old played as a central midfielder, and following his experiences with Arsenal will want to push on for regular appearances.
Having made only one senior spell at the Gunners, Maitland-Niles is ready to show Wenger he is ready to fit into the picture in future seasons.
At such a young age to be playing football in England’s second best division, the Arsenal boss will know he’s in for a testing campaign.
Ipswich Town are a side pushing to get back into the play-off places, so Maitland-Niles could well be an impressive addition to achieve that goal.
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