In the week that Gedion Zelalem became the 12th Arsenal player to be loaned out this summer, Arsène Wenger has been speaking about loan moves.
The arsenal boss had his say on the benefits that loan spells do for young players who strive for success and to continue their development on a personal level with regular first-team experience elsewhere.
Wenger has spoken about his belief that loan moves are vital for a young player’s development as they naturally aim to make the step-up from academy football to the professional game.
“It’s a good move for these players because you know there is a gap between the under-21s and the Premier League that all the clubs try to sort out now in different ways,” Wenger told Arsenal.com. “Most of the time it’s to give them competition at an in-between level, which gives them responsibility to turn up in a first team and to stand up for the results and their mistakes.
“I would say it’s post-education to get them ready to play competitive games in the Premier League.”
Zelalem is the seventh player under 21 to be loaned out, in order to gain regular minutes in a competitive league. The likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Daniel Crowley and Chuba Akpom have all started their respective spells well, as they aim to impress with plenty of potential and hype to fulfill.