Arsenal: Joe Willock can easily fill Dani Ceballos hole in midfield

With Dani Ceballos set to leave for good finally, it is easy to say that he will not be among the most missed players in recent Arsenal history. He has simply not developed into the type of player that many including myself believed he could be as both an offensive and defensive midfielder and Real Madrid will reportedly handle that by selling him to another team as soon as possible.

Yet in the meanwhile, as the Arsenal rumor mill continues to heat up as the summer draws near, the return of Joe Willock from Newcastle United couldn’t be timed much better. After the spell that the midfield academy product enjoyed under Steve Bruce as the Magpies form markedly improved, Willock must be trusted as Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe have been.

When Willock was sent to Newcastle, many assumed that it was a matter of getting the player more playing time, as was the case with Ainsley Maitland-Niles to West Bromwich Albion; both players showed their quality, yet Willock demonstrated that he can play a consistent role in any side if given the fair opportunity to earn his minutes.

In just 13 games with the Magpies, the young man has eight goals; for perspective, in 78 senior matches for his parent club, Willock has just 11 goals. He needs to be trusted and allowed to play with intuition, freedom and instinct, and at Arsenal he should have less pressure on him to do these things, which should hopefully allow for his production to further flower with this new experience.

Joe Willock is an Arsenal man who deserves his chance under Mikel Arteta with Dani Ceballos leaving

He will not be leaned upon as Newcastle had to with Bruce and an injured squad, for the Gunners are looking at retaining Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid should they be able to, and that is simply for starters.

The club is also interested in signing names like Yves Bissouma of Brighton & Hove Albion, Emiliano Buendia of Norwich City, Julian Brandt of Borussia Dortmund and of course, Houssem Aouar of Lyon; the addition of one or more of these players would allow Joe Willock to play with some immense talent, while not having the entire load of pressure to create and produce upon his shoulders.

Ceballos never appeared fluid and comfortable in whichever role he played upon the team, and that’s OK to realize. Willock should be asked to do Joe-Willock-type-things and while that will include more defending that Mesut Ozil was willing to commit to, the club will have to rely on Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny and whoever else they sign this summer.

With good young players all around Willock as well, like the aforementioned Saka and Smith Rowe, as well as Gabriel Martinelli, a good solid rotation featuring those names will have to become mainstays for Arteta and the club moving forward.

They will have to be worked in alongside the more experienced names, just as Pep Guardiola does week in and competition out with Manchester City. Names like Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah will likely have to be sold, alongside Lucas Torreira and possibly Granit Xhaka among others, to make room for the players that the boss needs to surround the players we currently have on the roster.

The team needs to become fluid playing with many different names at many different positions; they must know their responsibilities and they must function within a set formation the manager opts for.

Should Arteta be able to get the squad he needs with the funds that the Kroenke’s are (hopefully) leaving at his disposal, he will have some potent pieces to continue growing around these new additions and stalwart names.

Willock ought to be a name that we hear from the club going forward, alongside Martinelli, Saka, Smith Rowe, Folarin Balogun, Konstantinos Mavropanos and William Saliba. The Hale Ender’s goal rate from midfield dwarfs that of the current crop, and only for so long can his talent go unnoticed as long as the system suits him.

If these players are utilized alongside the talent that Arsenal can afford and already has, the Gunners will not be struggling to get into the seventh position on the Premier League table for very long; yet should they not be, just the same as should the Gunners fail in the transfer market, the Arteta reign will not last much longer than the Unai Emery reign lasted.

The fans and the club must trust in the boss and administration for now and must not be as reactionary as what occurred in the dying days of the Emery administration, yet the resources that Arsenal have in terms of their youth must be utilized, for finance, status and, most importantly, for Willock’s talent.