Joe Willock has been one of the stars of Arsenal’s pre-season so far, catching the eye in each of his appearances for the first team.
After an outstanding start to the 2018/19 campaign with the Arsenal u23s, Willock started to work his way into Unai Emery’s thinking as the season went on.
The midfielder scored three goals in six first-team appearances, and he made his first Premier League start under Emery in the final game of the domestic season. Now, he’s getting the chance in pre-season to prove he deserves more, and he’s taking it.
Willock made a good impression in his substitute appearance against Colorado Rapids, before playing a starring role in the win over Bayern Munich. His pressing and passing were excellent against top-class midfield opponents in Thiago Alcantara and Corentin Tolisso.
The 19-year-old had to settle for a substitute appearance against Fiorentina, but he made the most of that too by coming on to score. Here’s a compilation of his performances so far:
Unai Emery and Mesut Özil are among those to have publicly praised Willock for his development and his efforts in pre-season so far. The England u20 international faces another tough test against Real Madrid on Tuesday night, when he’s likely to get another start.