Arsenal: Start Joe Willock against Newcastle United

With the opening game against Newcastle just over two weeks away, Joe Willock appears ready to stake his claim for a place in the Arsenal starting XI.

Arsenal‘s preseason tour of the US provided a better look at many of the club’s young prospects against opponents like Bayern Munich, Fiorentina, and Real Madrid. It is already evident that greater efforts are being made to develop and integrate these players into the first team, and many of them have been impressive this summer.

Striker Eddie Nketiah has demonstrated a natural eye for goal and excellent composure when receiving the ball in the box. 17 year-old Bukayo Saka could be the pacey, direct winger the squad so desperately needs to add another dimension in attack.

It has also been interesting to watch lesser-known academy stars like Robbie Burton, a player that Unai Emery admitted he “didn’t know” until Freddie Ljungberg brought him to his attention.

However, the youngster most likely to be in the starting lineup at St. James’ Park on August 11th is central midfielder Joe Willock. The 19-year-old showed flashes of his potential last season in a few Europa League and FA Cup appearances; he even made a brief cameo in Baku, where he looked more dangerous and purposeful in 12 minutes than most of the senior players did for the entire final.

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Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi have not yet returned to training following their respective international commitments with Uruguay and France, which has given Willock the opportunity to pick up where he left off in May.

Starting in a double pivot alongside Granit Xhaka against both Bayern and Real, Willock showed no signs of inexperience or nerves against prestigious opponents. In fact, he excelled in both games, demonstrating impressive passing range and an ability to press and win the ball high up the pitch.

Perhaps most notably, Willock seems to love making runs into the box from deep, something Aaron Ramsey was particularly known for. He scored a wonderful goal against Fiorentina in Charlotte doing exactly that, with a tidy finish on his weaker left foot as well.

A year ago, Emery was obviously impressed enough by Guendouzi during preseason to start him against Manchester City on opening weekend. That should be an encouraging sign for Willock and the other young players to take this chance and make the jump to regular first team football.

Willock’s emergence means there is no need to rush Torreira or Guendouzi back into the side, especially since neither is expected to be fully match fit to start the season; if Willock keeps this form up in the next few weeks, the position could become his to lose.