Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal squad is now stronger than ever and that means the club were forced to loan a number of players out during the summer transfer window. The Gunners also sent a number of youth team players on loan as they seek to gain some senior first-team experience.
It was a good week for Arsenal on the pitch as Arteta’s title-cashing troops picked up two victories on the road at Port Vale in the Carabao Cup third round and then Newcastle on Sunday in the Premier League.
But was it a good week for their loanees also? football.london assesses the picture.
Jakub Kiwior (Porto)
Kiwior remains a popular figure at the Emirates Stadium but he decided to pursue regular playing time this summer in Portugal with Porto.
The 25-year-old centre-back flourished on Thursday as The Dragons ran out 1-0 winners at RB Salzburg in the Europa League.
Porto have now kept three consecutive clean sheets and Kiwior has been at the heart of their impressive form.
Francesco Farioli’s side currently sit top of the Primeira Liga and have won all six of their league matches, conceding just once.
Kiwior has proven a major hit thus far and his confident performances mean Porto will be satisfied with their £23.5million obligation clause that will be formally triggered next summer.
Oleksandr Zinchenko (Nottingham Forest)
It’s been a rough start to life at the City Ground for Zinchenko.
While he has been building his fitness and rhythm under Ange Postecoglou, he is yet to taste victory in four matches with Forest.
He played 90 minutes in both of the club’s games this week, the 2-2 Europa League draw with Real Betis plus Saturday evening’s 1-0 home defeat to Sunderland.
Forest are having a tough time after parting company with Nuno Espirito Santo but Zinchenko is getting the regular minutes he desired following his shock last-gasp deadline day loan.
Fabio Vieira (Hamburg)
Vieira has caught the eye since joining Albert Sambi Lokonga at HSV.
But he endured a setback on Sunday after being shown a straight red card deep into stoppage time.
With 98 minutes on the clock, Vieira chased a ball on the touchline and raised his boot to control it, instead crashing his foot into the chest of Union Berlin defender Leopold Querfeld.
There was no doubt Querfeld made a meal of the challenge but unfortunately, there could be little sympathy for Vieira, who also started rolling around following the innocuous coming together.
Karl Hein (Werder Bremen)
Goalkeeper Hein was in for his Bundesliga debut on Friday evening as Werder travelled to Bavaria to face the champions Bayern Munich.
While Hein let in four goals, including two from Harry Kane as the England captain became the first-ever player to reach 100 goals for one club (in 104 games), the Estonian also made a number of stops to keep the scoring down.
He made eight in total, earning a 7.4 rating on Fotmob, which is the highest of any Werder Bremen player in the match.
Although it was a heavy defeat, Hein did his chances of earning the permanent No.1 spot no harm.
Reiss Nelson (Brentford)
Nelson was absent due to illness as the Bees thumped Manchester United 3-1 at the Gtech on Saturday lunchtime.
It’s been a slow start to life in west London for the winger, who has played just 22 minutes of action for the Bees to date.
Maldini Kacurri (Morecambe)
Arsenal youth team defender Kacurri endured an afternoon to forget for Morecambe on Saturday.
The Albanian national team defender was shown red on 42 minutes for his second yellow card as The Shrimps were thumped 5-0 at Truro City.
Ismeal Kabia (Shrewsbury Town)
Attacker Kabia completed 90 minutes for the second consecutive match as Shrewsbury were beaten 2-1 by MK Dons in League Two.
The winger has already featured eight times in all competitions for The Shrews, scoring and assisting once.
Lucas Nygaard (Brabrand IF)
2006-born goalkeeper Nygaard picked up more valuable minutes this weekend as Brabrand won 2-1 at Thisted in the Danish second division on Saturday.
While there was no clean sheet, it’s the first time Nygaard has recorded a win since earning his spot in the side.
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