Arsenal ended the transfer window without signing another central midfielder to join Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, but Edu may have had a long-term plan in the shape of Charlie Patino who has begun his loan spell at Swansea in spectacular form. With Thomas Partey dropping back into defence at times and Mohamed Elneny yet to recover from a niggling injury, Arteta has been left short of options in midfield.
Jorginho offers something else for Arsenal off the bench with his experience while both Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe are seen as more attacking options. Arsenal were said to be in the market for a more well-rounded midfielder to give Arteta some more opportunities to change things when needed this season.
But the Gunners opted against spending any more than the £208million they used on Rice, Havertz, Jurrien Timber and David Raya’s loan. That may have been a calculated move by Edu based on a transfer decision made earlier in August.
Highly-rated youngster Patino was sent out on loan to Championship side Swansea for the start of the campaign to gain more first-team football. Arsenal have been utilising the loan market for their most promising young stars in the past years.
William Saliba is now a central part of Arteta’s first-team while Arsenal ended up banking £34m from Folarin Balogun’s sale after his successful loan with Reims last season. Patino looks set to be the next off the conveyor belt at the Emirates as he’s hit the ground running at Swansea.
The 19-year-old registered his third assist in just four games for Swansea with a delicate pass through to Liam Cullen in their match against Bristol City on Saturday. That’s just one less assist than what he managed while on loan with Blackpool last season with Patino clearly getting used to playing senior football.
He’ll need to continue putting in those kinds of performances to catch the eye of Arsenal’s hierarchy, who will be monitoring the market for potential midfield recruits.
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Patino could well put himself in a position to force Arteta’s hands heading into next year when they’ll likely look to bolster their options in midfield. The promising midfielder may well have to prove himself at the elite level to be given a chance in Arteta’s side.
But Arsenal have also shown that they’re more than willing to use the loan market to simply extract value from their young stars. As an England youth international, Patino has even more value to clubs in the Premier League looking to fill their English quota.
Arsenal will want Patino to realise his full potential sooner rather than later to give themselves a decision to make on whether to cash in or bring him into Arteta’s squad. And his start to life in south Wales suggests Patino is well on his way to becoming another successful loan story under Edu’s stewardship.
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