Arsenal star midfielder primed for first team chance

With the return of the Premier League approaching after various international outfits prepare for one last World Cup qualifier, the focus is on who is performing well for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.

Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe have both netted away on their ventures as the former netted for the Three Lions senior side against Andorra and the latter grabbed his first goal for the England Under-21 team with the only strike in a 1-0 win over Andorra.

Elsewhere Arsenal’s key African trio also got themselves on the scoresheet: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang notched a goal and an assist in Gabon’s 2-0 win over Angola with Nicolas Pepe grabbing the opener of Ivory Coast ran out 2-1 winners over Malawi.

And who could forget goal machine Thomas Partey? A strike all of his doing, the Ghanaian has now taken his tally to 11 in 32 matches for the Black Stars, a record that seems unfathomable having watched him hit Row Z umpteen times in red and white.

https://twitter.com/MiguelAzeez/status/1447630791257858051

Arsenal star midfielder Miguel Azeez primed for first team chance at Portsmouth after scoring for England and recovering from injury

There is a midfielder who has trumped them all, however. It’s Miguel Azeez, of course.

On loan at Portsmouth for the 2021/22 season, the 19-year-old only scores screamers. It’s quite the reputation he’s building for himself.

Starting for England’s Under-20 side in their clash with Czech Republic’s Under-20’s, Azeez opened the scoring in style with a trademark strike, on his left foot, that flew into the top corner from 20 yards. He also grabbed an assist on the night to help the Three Lions on their way to a roaring 5-0 win.

However, the minutes haven’t been as easy to come by since moving to Portsmouth in the summer. Playing only 59 minutes of Pompey’s 2-1 home defeat to Cambridge United, Dan Cowley has been easing the midfielder – who he plays as a No.8 as opposed to a No. 6 – into action with no other playing time in League One so far. Injuries have hampered him.

There is absolute faith in Cowley to manage Azeez accordingly, having done so brilliantly with Smith Rowe during the pair’s Huddersfield days.

This spell at Fratton Park is Azeez’s first taste of senior football aside from one Europa League outing for Arsenal, and now fit and firing he can be expected to start playing regularly on the south coast.

With plenty of the season to go and Portsmouth currently sitting slap bang in mid-table, the injection of a technician like him in the engine room can certainly have a positive impact. He could even make a Premier League return in January.