Arsenal: Is this the Joe Willock year?

Joe Willock has enjoyed an excellent start to Arsenal’s pre-season tour in the United States. Could this be the season the midfielder explodes onto the first-team scene?

Arsenal are famous for their reliance and prioritising of young players. It is a deep-rooted characteristic of the club, something that is extremely important to the fans and will be demanded of every manager in charge.

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And at present, the Gunners have a whole host of young players that are on the verge of breaking into the first-team squad. It is why this is one of the more exciting pre-seasons in recent memory. One of those players, Joe Willock, has made quite the start to his summer preparations. And it has not gone unnoticed.

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Speaking after the victory over Bayern Munich, in which Willock was excellent in a central midfield role, head coach Unai Emery said of his young star:

"” I really, really think that he made one more step last year during the season and he finished it very well with us, playing 12 minutes in the final against Chelsea with a big performance. We now want him to take another step more in his capacity to be with us, with a big help in our performance and our idea.”"

The sentiment of Willock’s increasing comfort and confidence, as well as his bright future, was echoed by Mesut Ozil:

"“He knows what he can do, so he is not arrogant on the pitch but he is, how can we say, he believes in himself. Especially yesterday against Bayern Munich, against a big club, he shows his quality. We are happy to have him. He was strong last year as well so, of course, if you really work with the first team together always, you feel more comfortable and you believe in yourself more. I think this season he can show his quality and I think he can help us this season.”"

Willock was very good in the Bayern victory, even if he did tire drastically after the break and was swiftly withdrawn as a result. He also looked extremely sharp in a brief showing against the Colorado Rapids earlier in the week, immediately progressing the play with greater speed and accuracy, showing the distinct quality between him and those that were on the pitch prior to his arrival.

With Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi and Mohamed Elneny all missing due to respective international tournaments, Willock is benefitting from a lack of competition in the midfield positions. Just because he looks like a starter in the pre-season does not mean that he will be the number one option in the normal season.

But as we saw with Guendouzi this time last year, Emery is more than willing to play the players who are best prepared to play, no matter how young they may be. If Willock proves himself to be capable and ready, Emery will not be afraid to start him.

The 19-year-old is in a prime position to explode onto the first-team scene. Whether he can now take advantage remains to be seen, but this could very well be the year of Joe Willock. And I, for one, am all for it.