Arsenal: Catching up with the January exits

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 10: Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal (L) comes off for Olivier Giroud of Arsenal (R) during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Stoke City at the Emirates Stadium on December 10, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

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DOHA, QATAR – MARCH 27 (Photo by AK BijuRaj/Getty Images) /

Marcus McGuane to Barcelona (Undisclosed fee)

Marcus McGuane, nineteen-years-old, joined Barcelona this past January. He will play with Barcelona B in Spain’s Segunda Division. He joins the handful of young British talent to move permanently to the continent. This past summer, Jadon Sancho moved from Manchester City to Borussia Dortmund and Chris Willock moved from Arsenal to Benfica. Mainly a holding-midfielder, McGuane made his début in a substitute appearance and subsequently started two of Barcelona B’s next three matches.

It is rare to see British players of any age make the move away from the English league system, which makes McGuane’s decision to join Barcelona intriguing. He is an obvious talent, as he has joined Barcelona, captained Arsenal’s U-18s and represented England at youth levels, and it is too bad that we cannot see him develop in North London. Nevertheless, for the development of the English game and the cultural amalgamation of the sport, it is only a positive to see players take a risk like he has at such a young age.

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