3 goals, 1 clean sheet, 6 debuts: Arsenal weekend loan roundup | OneFootball

Three Arsenal loanees scored and Arthur Okonkwo kept a clean sheet in a positive weekend overall for the Gunners’ loan army.

Friday

Nikolaj Moller was unavailable for FC Den Bosch through injury, as they lost 3-1 to FC Eindhoven. Omar Rekik came on for a 12-minute Eredivisie cameo debut away to SC Heerenveen, with Sparta Rotterdam drawing the match 0-0.

Alex Kirk was a 94th-minute substitute for Ayr United in a 3-2 win over Queens Park FC that same night.

The only Arsenal loanee to start on Friday was Auston Trusty with Birmingham City, and the American centre-back was impressive again in their 2-1 win over Huddersfield Town. Trusty is earning a good reputation in Birmingham so far.

The highlight of Arsenal’s Saturday loanee performances was Harry Clarke’s goal for Stoke City against Blackpool, though it was also nice to see Charlie Patino making his debut as a substitute for the opposition, as the fans welcomed him in song.

The other major positive of the day was Arthur Okonkwo’s clean sheet for Crewe Alexandra against Harrogate Town. Like Trusty, he’s been earning positive early reviews from his new supporters.

Tyreece John-Jules came on as a late substitute for Ipswich Town to help them see out a win over Forest Green Rovers, whilst Mazeed Ogungbo couldn’t stop Crawley Town dropping to a 1-0 defeat to Leyton Orient.

Ogungbo came on in the 54th minute for his debut, with his team already behind.

Ovie Ejeheri conceded once in a 1-1 draw between Chelmsford City and St. Albans City in his competitive debut, and Marcelo Flores played 24 minutes of a friendly for Real Oviedo against Racing de Santander.

Up in Scotland, Ryan Alebiosu played the full 90 minutes for Kilmarnock against Rangers, but the home side were always the favourites. Alebiosu’s side ended up 2-0 losers, though he recorded a 92% pass accuracy from wing-back.

Mika Biereth was an unused substitute in the last game of the day as RKC Waalwijk drew 2-2 with FC Utrecht.

Sunday

There was only one game involving Arsenal loanees on Sunday, but it was a busy one, with Nuno Tavares starting for Marseille and Folarin Balogun coming off the bench for opponents Stade de Reims, both debuts.

Tavares scored Marseille’s second goal in the first half, and he put in a fantastic performance, winning L’Equipe’s Man of the Match award afterwards. As well as his goal, he created four chances, including two big chances.

Balogun came on with just 26 minutes left, but he managed to score a goal of his own in the final 10. Unfortunately for him, Marseille won 4-1.