13 Arsenal loanees featured over the weekend, with the highlight being a first senior goal for Brooke Norton-Cuffy.

Friday

Nikolaj Moller with Viktoria Koln (Photo via Moller on Instagram)
Nikolaj Moller with Viktoria Koln (Photo via Moller on Instagram)

Nikolaj Moller played 90 minutes in a 4-0 FC Den Bosch defeat to Excelsior, whilst Jordan McEneff returned from his injury scare to play 46 minutes as a substitute for Shelbourne FC as they lost to Derry City.

Saturday

Brooke Norton-Cuffy celebrating his goal for Lincoln City (Photo via Norton-Cuffy on Instagram)
Brooke Norton-Cuffy celebrating his goal for Lincoln City (Photo via Norton-Cuffy on Instagram)

Pablo Mari kicked off Saturday by helping Udinese to a 2-1 win over Sampdoria. The centre-back played the full 90 minutes, made six clearances, two interceptions, and one tackle.

In one of many 3pm kickoffs, Brooke Norton-Cuffy impressed for Lincoln City again, scoring his first goal in senior football as they won 3-1 against Sheffield Wednesday. Tyreece John-Jules was unavailable for the opposition due to injury.

https://twitter.com/brookenc2/status/1500420155897262081

Folarin Balogun also performed well in a win, winning a penalty as Middlesbrough overcame Luton Town 2-1.

Daniel Ballard made his first start post-injury, helping Millwall keep a clean sheet against Reading with a 90-minute appearance. Karl Hein was unavailable for Reading for their 1-0 defeat.

Matt Smith played 90 minutes for Doncaster Rovers as they were soundly beaten 4-0 by Cheltenham Town, whilst Jordi Osei-Tutu played 68 minutes for Rotherham United in a 2-1 defeat to MK Dons.

Tim Akinola was the only fit and available Arsenal player not to feature in the 3pm kickoffs, sitting on the bench for the full 90 minutes as Dundee United drew with Hearts.

Ryan Alebiosu (Crewe Alexandra) and Harry Clarke (Hibernian) missed their matches with their ongoing injury problems, and Tom Smith (Welling United) continues to be unavailable as well.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles didn’t make it off the bench in Roma’s 1-0 win over Atalanta, whilst Konstantinos Mavropanos played 90 minutes in a rare and vital win for VfB Stuttgart over Borussia Monchengladbach.

Reiss Nelson played 18 minutes as a substitute as Feyenoord drew with FC Groningen, as he continues to struggle for a consistent run of minutes.

Across the Atlantic, Auston Trusty helped Colorado Rapids to a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over Atalanta United FC.

Sunday

William Saliba via Marseille
William Saliba via Marseille

Lucas Torreira played 76 minutes in a 1-1 draw for Fiorentina against Verona, and William Saliba played the full 90 as Marseille lost 1-0 to AS Monaco.

Runar Alex Runarsson was at fault for a goal in a 3-1 defeat to Eupen with OH Leuven, despite his recent strong form. He did make a couple of good stops in the match and complete 95% of his passes, but the mistake was a blip for him.

Hector Bellerin was unavailable for Real Betis’ key match against Atletico Madrid through injury. They lost 3-1 to concede the advantage in the top-four race.