Wojciech Szczesny made a string of important saves, including a stop to deny M’Baye Niang’s first-half penalty, keeping a hard-fought clean sheet as Roma prevailed over AC Milan on Monday evening.
There were a few more of Arsenal’s players out on loan representing their current sides including Calum Chambers and Takuma Asano, both of which started.
Here’s a round-up:
ENGLAND
Calum Chambers played the full 90 minutes for Aitor Karanka’s side but was unable to stop Middlesbrough from a slender 1-0 defeat at the hands of Southampton on Sunday afternoon. The 21-year-old centreback won five aerial duels, completed 10 clearances and made two interceptions too without committing a foul for the second successive match.
Ryan Huddart kept a clean sheet during Eastleigh’s 2-0 FA Cup victory over Halifax Town, as they progressed through to Round Three of this season’s prestigious competition after a tense 3-3 draw in the previous fixture. They’re set for an away tie against Championship side Brentford on January 7.
SPAIN
Talented full-back Julio Pleguezuelo was an unused substitute, as Mallorca lost 2-1 against Almeria and are now languishing in 19th place, having dropped into the relegation zone this past weekend.
PORTUGAL
Joel Campbell overcame an injury issue during the week to feature as a second half substitute during Sporting’s heavily-anticipated fixture with Benfica on Sunday evening.
The Costa Rican winger created the assist for Bas Dost’s strike with just over 20 minutes remaining, and was a constant threat for the hosts’ backline to isolate in the final third.
GERMANY
Takuma Asano started and played 64 minutes during VfB Stuttgart’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Hannover 96 on Monday evening. He created the assist for Simon Terodde’s opener after just twelve minutes, his fourth of the campaign thus far, and has been consistently putting in a credible shift attack-wise as he aims to stake his claim for a starting berth with more regularity in the side.
ITALY
Wojciech Szczesny was excellent when called upon for Roma, during their narrow 1-0 victory over AC Milan on Monday evening. The Polish goalkeeper was made to work hard in order to earn his fourth clean sheet since the end of October, making a few saves including a penalty stop to deny rumoured Arsenal target M’Baye Niang from breaking the deadlock in the first-half.
A low dive to his left proved important as he was able to quickly parry the striker’s effort away from goal whilst getting up quickly afterward. He has a commendable knack for saving spot-kicks, which will give Arsenal supporters reassurance in the long-term, should he remain an Arsenal player beyond the end of the current campaign.
Current first-choice goalkeeper Petr Cech hasn’t saved any of the seven penalties he’s faced since joining the Gunners, a worrying statistic to say the least.