Arsenal make Joe Willock transfer decision

It should never been understated how quickly things can change in football. Joe Willock was for many months deemed well bellow the standard required at Arsenal, never winning over supporters who’d seen him given enough chances to prove his worth.

In the 2019/20 campaign no player in the entire squad made more appearances than his 44, and while those only equated to 1,855 minutes, it was nonetheless felt that he had been given a fair crack of the whip.

Arsenal are on a continent-wide hunt for new central midfielders to offset the departures, with Granit Xhaka, Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira all making way this summer.

Different profiles suiting different needs have been earmarked, although none of the ones mentioned are known for their goalscoring prowess. Manuel Locatelli would add traits similar to Xhaka and Yves Bissouma would add energy and tenacity that could unlock Thomas Partey as a more box-to-box midfielder. Again, none of them are goalscorers.

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Arsenal make Joe Willock transfer decision in summer window as Newcastle eye permanent deal for Hale End midfielder

Furthermore, none of them scored seven goals in seven consecutive Premier League matches. A sensational achievement.

Thus, the case for Willock took a dramatic shift. From being someone the club had to move to lift the quality within the team, he now shouldn’t be sold for any less than £30m.

Things change quickly in football.

So what do Arsenal do with him? Newcastle are the only side so far to have registered concrete interest in his signature, but they look unlikely to meet the £20m asking price that has been floated around, let alone the £30m some sections of the fanbase are demanding.

With Arsenal facing the prospect of starting the season with Mohamed Elneny, Partey and Albert Sambi Lokonga (eventually) if they sell Willock, the options in that department are slim especially with two of the aforementioned trio potentially missing out for six weeks of the season at AFCON.

Of course, a new midfielder to complement Lokonga will be sourced but if Willock leaves then there are four options at Mikel Arteta’s disposal – five if Miguel Azeez is handed his chance in the Premier League.

Due to the volume of work that needs to be undertaken, bidding farewell to the Hale Ender and then potentially securing a third midfielder thickens an already stacked to-do list.

So, should Willock stay? Well, as per football.london, the midfielder now looks set to do so following his sensational spell on Tyneside with Arteta seeing him in his plans ‘for years to come’.

Unless an offer comes in that is impossible to turn down, he will stay. Is this the right move to take?

Continued…