Arsenal give first team chance to exciting midfielder

With the transfer window now a thing of the past and talk centering on what Arsenal have as opposed to what they didn’t manage to secure, it’s still hard to overlook the areas of weakness.

Signing a sextet of players for £150m to try and tackle multiple areas with a well-trodden recruitment strategy was the sustainable and long overdue direction to take.

But, maybe one midfielder to come in and take their place in the starting lineup somewhere around the 25-26 age bracket would have been welcome. The ship has sailed, though.

One player many thought could make the step up and earn the occasional minutes here and there was Miguel Azeez. That has not transpired as he’s joined Dan Cowley’s Portsmouth on loan for the season and, without doubt, it was the best option to take. A wise and well suited move for his development.

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Arsenal give first team chance to exciting midfielder Tim Akinola who has been training with Thomas Partey and co over the international break

Back in the academy there has been an interesting new face cropping up around the first team, one well known to all who keep track of the Under-23’s. With players away on international duty over the past week, Tim Akinola has been a regular feature in the first team training sessions.

Making the joint-most appearances for the side last season, he was one of the players tipped to leave on loan this summer in search of regular first team minutes.

However, with the likes of Thomas Partey back in training on Monday hoping to be fit for the Premier League clash with Norwich, Akinola has remained up with the seniors and even got some match minutes recently.

Despite not listing his name on the substitutes who came on for the behind-closed-doors friendly win over Brentford, the defensive midfielder was seen pictured in action. For whatever reason his outing wasn’t mentioned, but he still got the opportunity alongside 17-year-old Charlie Patino, who was included in the match report.

20-year-old Akinola is not going to be knocking on the first team door in the immediate future but he’s clearly done enough to impress the coaching staff who’ve kept him with the group for longer than expected. Fellow midfielder James Olayinka also trained on this week.

Arsenal are a bit thin in midfield though, and it’s better to have something in mind in case catastrophe strikes, even if it’s more akin to having a 100th in line to the British throne. Yet, does the latest on Mohamed Elneny’s future hint towards something brewing?

No usurping is set to happen just yet but his extended involvement is interesting sidenote considering that Akinola wasn’t considered one of the better players of last season’s Under-23 campaign. Off the ball his combative nature stands out but more is desired from him in possession as his technical level isn’t where you’d expect him to be at this stage.

Clearly he’s been working hard over the summer. Maybe hard enough?