Arsenal 21-year-old Ben Sheaf has joined Doncaster Rovers on a season-long loan, the club have announced today.

Arsenal posted on Friday morning to confirm that Sheaf would join the League One side on loan, making the step up from his loan to League Two Stevenage last season.

There’s a minor dispute over exactly how long Sheaf is on loan for. The Arsenal website claims he’s staying with Doncaster until the end of the season, whilst Doncaster’s website claims it’s a ‘six-month loan deal’.

We’re going to default to Arsenal’s report here. Arsenal players rarely go on loan for the first half of the season and return in January (unless recalled).

Sheaf said of the move: “I’m really happy to take this step up, I feel like I’m past U23s football now and this is a great opportunity to get experience in the men’s game. I just want to get in and settled down and know the boys, then impress the new manager.”

Sheaf made his debut for Arsenal at the end of a victory over Red Star Belgrade in 2017, and he made one further appearance for the senior side a couple of months later against West Ham.

Other than that, however, he’s remained with the u23s whilst in North London. Last season, his appearances were limited by injury in the early months of the campaign, but he finished strongly and even captained the u23 side on the final day.

The youngster can play in a defensive midfield role or at centre-back, and he even spent a while at right-back earlier in his career, so he’s certainly got versatility on his side. It would be nice to see him nail down one position on this loan though.