Arsenal: 9 young players set for summer loan departures

Arsenal are not great at loaning players out. They’re good at it in the sense that player X leaves and goes to club Y, but not in the context of those moves actually paying dividends. Last season changed that narrative and hopefully signals more of the same.

Prior to 2020/21, the amount of successful temporary moves players made way from Arsenal could be counted on one hand. In very minor instances did a player either leave and return rejuvenated and ready for the first team, or significantly boost their value.

So Joe Willock’s case is quite unique in that sense. Those six months on Tyneside were the best six months of his Arsenal career, in many ways. His value has never been higher, his stock has risen exponentially and his chances of playing for Arsenal regularly couldn’t be stronger.

A few other loans sanctioned last season also bore fruit. For those involved they were almost all senior squad members, while numerous youth products were sent out for regular minutes, as per football.london.

Arsenal: 9 young players set for summer loan departures as youth squads face shake-up ahead of next season

It’s going to be the same again this time around, with nine rising starlets due to earn regular minutes elsewhere that will prove, for many of them, to be arguably the biggest 12 months of their careers to date.

While Arsenal are out scouting targets for the immediate future of the club, there are some exciting prospects who are working their way up towards a knock on the manager’s door. Only Sheffield United handed more minutes to Under-21 players than the Gunners last season, so the pathway is there.

It will be interesting to see how the following fare, with a few names in there that are highly-rated and will be leaving with a view to earning them first team minutes that could propel their careers at Arsenal.

Arsenal Defenders Leaving on Loan

The most high-profile of all the defenders leaving is undoubtedly Daniel Ballard. Now a full Northern Ireland international, his rise up the football pyramid has made for excellent viewing: In successive seasons he’s gone from playing in the Under-18’s, to Under-23’s, to League Two, to League One and next up, the Championship.

Having helped guide Blackpool to the second tier via the play-off final, Ballard is now due for 12 months in the division, whether with the Tangerines once more or at another club. As per Chris Wheatley there is plenty of interest in a defender who’s enjoyed a superb season.

Elsewhere there are four other defenders set for departures, including two centre-backs. The first is Jonathan Dinzeyi, who crossed the ill-fated divide as he joined Arsenal from Tottenham in the previous summer. The 21-year-old made 18 appearances last season, although none of them came alongside Harry Clarke, who was away on loan at Oldham where he impressed in League Two, making 32 league appearances.

Right-back Ryan Alebiosu will also be on the move this summer having made 18 appearances for the Under-23 side under Steve Bould. He was a near ever-present for the side and showed his versatility having featured at left-back on two occasions, in two of the only six matches the Gunners won that term.

He took the place of Zak Swanson, who had an unsuccessful loan spell with MVV Maastricht in the Dutch second division. He returned early from that move due to an injury he suffered, resulting in him making just three appearances across the entirety of 2020/21. Another loan will hopefully give him a new lease of life.