Joe Willock is having a great season with the Arsenal u21s, u23s and the first team, particularly when it comes to goalscoring.
Officially, Willock has scored 11 goals (and assisted three) in 16 games across the three sides, although he scored a 12th against West Ham United u23s in a game that was abandoned at half-time. Nonetheless, 11 is impressive enough for a player who only scored once in 2017/18.
This is no freak run of form though. Willock is scoring so much more often partly as a result of taking up a more advanced position on the pitch, but also because his late runs into the box have improved so much.
The youngster has clearly been taking a leaf out of Aaron Ramsey’s book, as he arrives just in time to apply the finish on many occasions. Here are his 11 goals for the campaign so far:
All 11 of @JoeWillock goals in 2018/19 so far. He can’t stop scoring at every level this season.
It would be great to see him featuring in the first team a few more times before the summer. #AFCpic.twitter.com/4piXFep9YK
— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) February 20, 2019
To break that total down, Willock has three goals for the first team, three goals in the EFL Trophy against League One and League Two senior sides, and five goals for the u23s in the Premier League 2 (against Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Manchester City).
Unai Emery has reportedly been impressed by the player’s development this season, and he was against the midfielder going on loan in January.
Unai Emery has been impressed with Joe Willock's development and was among those who decided against sanctioning a loan move for the player. [@jamesbenge]
— LTArsenal™️ (@ltarsenal) February 20, 2019
There should be chances for the young Englishman to get into the Arsenal first team this campaign, perhaps even this week. With a game on Thursday and another on Sunday, Emery would be best off rotating his squad a bit, which could see the teenager getting onto the bench at least.
Considering there are only six players in the entire Arsenal senior squad who have scored more goals than Willock this season, it may be worth throwing him in there a bit more often.