Arsenal youth striker Tyreece John-Jules is close to joining Lincoln City on loan until the end of the season, according to reports.

The Independent claim John-Jules will leave Arsenal for Lincoln City on a six-month loan deal this month. Charles Watts of Goal has also since confirmed the move. Lincoln reportedly assured him he’ll get first-team action with them in League One.

The striker signed a contract extension in North London over the summer, but he’s still waiting for a professional debut. That’s not easy as things stand, with Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang filling the centre-forward spot in almost every game, regardless of competition or opponent.

A loan works well for the player as a result, and it’s good for Arsenal too. In the u23s, Folarin Balogun can nail down the CF spot and Sam Greenwood can feature more often. That then trickles down to the u18s, with someone like Luke Plange getting more opportunities, and so on.

League One is a good starting point too. We’ve seen with Eddie Nketiah that it’s hard to get into a top Championship team even scoring goals regularly. The same is even more true in the Premier League, plus the pressure is so much greater. That’s not the ideal environment to make a debut.

With the League Cup gone, the FA Cup throwing out a Premier League team and the Europa League now Arsenal’s best chance of Champions League qualification, debut opportunities look scarce for the second half of the season.

2 goals, 1 assist: Tyreece John-Jules stars in dramatic u23 win over Dinamo Zagreb