Arsenal make transfer decision regarding player on loan at EFL club | OneFootball

Portsmouth have confirmed that young midfielder Miguel Azeez has been recalled from his loan spell at Fratton Park by Premier League giants Arsenal.

It was reported a few days ago that the Gunners, who are in the midst of an injury and COVID-19 crisis having had to call their North London Derby against Tottenham off at the weekend, were set to terminate the 19-year-old’s deal on the south coast.

There was an expectation that Azeez would receive regular game-time under Danny Cowley, with Arsenal having sent Emile Smith-Rowe to work under the same manager at Huddersfield in the 2019-20 season.

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Steve Finnan?

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However in the end, Azeez played just six times in League One for Pompey, with his last appearance coming in mid-December against Morecambe – a match in which he notched his one and only assist for the club.

Because he was sparingly used by Cowley though, Azeez has been brought back to Arsenal to either head back to their under-23 set-up or potentially head out on loan once again, with Cowley believing that the teenager will be a better player for his time at Fratton Park.

The Verdict

This was probably the right call for Arsenal who weren’t seeing the youngster perform on a regular basis.

There’s a lot of competition for places at Portsmouth and Cowley preferred his senior options over Azeez, which is his prerogative in the end.

Cowley did address the fact a few months ago that Azeez’s defensive side of the game needed some work and that’s why he wasn’t appearing as much, but an assist against Morecambe last month could have been the stepping stone to more regular appearances.

It never happened though and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him head back out on loan for the remainder of the campaign to another EFL club.