William Saliba helped OGC Nice qualify for the next round of the Coupe de France as one of a few Arsenal loanees to feature in midweek.
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Lucas Torreira
This week started off with Lucas Torreira’s 45-minute appearance against Celta Vigo. The midfielder came off the bench for the second half with Atletico Madrid at 1-1, but despite taking the lead, he couldn’t help them avoid conceding a late equaliser for 2-2.
Mark McGuinness
Next up, Mark McGuinness was the only player from a possible five EFL Arsenal loanees to feature on Tuesday. The centre-back started for Ipswich Town and played 90 minutes in a 2-1 defeat to Peterborough United.
For the most part, McGuinness won’t be too disappointed with his night’s work. He won 10 of his 14 individual duels, made nine clearances and two tackles in a busy defensive performance.
However, the centre-back will be a little disappointed he didn’t do better contesting the cross for Peterborough’s opening goal.
As for the other four EFL loanees that could’ve been in action, Jordi Osei-Tutu (Cardiff City), James Olayinka (Southend United), and Tyreece John-Jules (Doncaster Rovers) all remain absent with injury.
For the time being, Olayinka and John-Jules are actually back in North London with Arsenal to work on their recoveries. All the same, Olayinka will have been pleased to see his loan team pull off a rare win to lift themselves off the bottom of League Two. Looking at the betting exchanges there are some good odds available on them going on a bit of a run.
Daniel Ballard
Daniel Ballard made the bench for Blackpool against Burton Albion, but he had no chance to make it onto the pitch after their match was postponed. The players made it all the way through their warm-up before the referee called the game off.
Down in non-league football, Arsenal loanee Joseph Olowu made his debut on Tuesday for Wealdstone FC. He faced off against Torquay United in a rather gutting 1-1 draw.
Wealdstone held the lead in the match until the 91st minute, but they conceded a sickening late equaliser from a rebound after a free-kick.
The 18th-placed side probably would have taken a draw against the league leaders at the start of the night, ending a run of four straight league defeats, so they’ll just have to look at the positives.
William Saliba
On Wednesday, William Saliba started for OGC Nice away to Nimes Olympique in the Coupe de France. After recently winning their Player of the Month award for January, he was making his first appearance in the cup competition since joining.
The centre-back performed very well again, making one clearance, one interception, blocking one shot and winning four of his five individual duels. He also completed 90% of his passes and both of his attempted dribbles.
Saliba came off in the 63rd minute with his team 2-1 up (the match finished 3-1). The substitution was seemingly with the weekend in mind, as Nice travel away to PSG on Saturday at 16:00 GMT.
Zech Medley
Finally, Zech Medley made his second appearance for Kilmarnock on Wednesday. He started against Motherwell but couldn’t help his team avoid falling to a sixth consecutive defeat. Things don’t get any easier for them with a trip to league leaders Rangers next.