Arsenal: Clearly we were missing out on Joe Willock all along

Arsenal’s youngsters came out to play against Vorskla, but no one played quite as well as Joe Willock. Have we been missing out this whole time?

Arsene Wenger had clear favorites among the youngsters at Arsenal last season. Joe Willock was one of them. Used to playing deeper in the midfield, Wenger also experimented with playing him as a No. 10, and we were seeing plenty of potential there, but obviously the fine-tuning wasn’t in place yet.

Unai Emery has had other favorites. Emile Smith Rowe, for instance, has had free reign to as much playing time as he could ever want. Or at least, something close to that. But Joe Willock wasn’t even an afterthought. He was so far away from the spectrum.

Not exactly that shocking. He played a traditional midfield role, and that position was filled by the likes of Guendouzi and Torreira, with Maitland-Niles aspiring to it, all under 23 years old, not to mention the need to give Ramsey consistent time, the need to not give up on Elneny and the continued presence of the rock, Granit Xhaka.

That’s a lot to get through. But Unai Emery didn’t put Willock behind them, he put them in the attack, where there are less options, particular rotational options, as they are all involved in first-team affairs.

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Willock finally got his chance against Vorskla. And to say he took it is an understatement. Out of the blue, he proved serious growth from last season, as he was a serious threat in the attack all day. He put three shots on target – the most of any other player, scored one of them with a suave finish and should have had another. He was second on the team with four completed dribbles and he was also tied for the team lead in tackles.

Maybe he was a wee bit loose with the ball, but he was trying to make things happen, with great effectiveness, and I think that after a performance like that, Emery has to take note and start to reconsider how pecking order among his young players, because Willock means business.

It looks effortless, the way he plays. Like he’s just gliding all over the pitch, not bothered by anything. There’s a maturity in that, and it’ll be exciting to see what he can do next.

He had to have gained some serious credibility under Emery in this one. Now it’s just the same matter as it is with so many other youngsters – the next step.