There were mixed feelings for two of Arsenal’s loanee players over this past week, with Joel Campbell’s poor performance against Rio Ave meaning he was left on the substitutes’ bench for Sporting’s 4-2 win against Estoril Friday evening.

The Costa Rican winger will be hoping for another chance to impress sooner rather than later, but the news comes as no surprise given his wasteful display last time out. Jorge Jesus opted for Bryan Ruiz to start proceedings, and Campbell had to watch his compatriot from the bench throughout as he wasn’t afforded any minutes.

He’ll be hoping to feature against Polish side Legia Warsaw in next week’s round of Champions League group stage matches, and it’d be a surprise if he wasn’t given an opportunity of some sort in midweek.

Takuma Asano meanwhile, played almost 150 minutes for VfB Stuttgart in the space of four days as 2.Bundesliga fixtures continued to pile up before the impending international break.

In their 2-0 home victory over Eintracht Braunschweig, Asano was impressive and managed to notch up an assist too. Against Bochum in their 1-1 draw on Friday, he was reduced to half-chances and didn’t see much of the ball to create many opportunities for himself, despite a few eyecatching touches and moments of individual brilliance in between.

His level of fitness continues to improve as he acclimatises to the intensity of a gruelling European league schedule, and although he’s a recognised striker, he’s proven in recent weeks that he can do an effective job on the right hand side of midfield when given the ball.

Asano (right) pictured here against Heidenheim, has proven his ability to do an effective job on the right-hand side of midfield recently. | Photo: Getty Images
Asano (right) pictured here against Heidenheim, has proven his ability to do an effective job on the right-hand side of midfield recently. | Photo: Getty Images