Marquinhos was in first-team training rather than playing for the Arsenal u21s on Friday, ahead of Arsenal’s senior match against Fulham.

One of Arsenal’s summer signings, Marquinhos has made a strong start to life with the Gunners, scoring three goals and assisting one for the u21s in just three appearances.

Mikel Arteta was in the stands for at least two of those three games, so he’s had a good chance to watch his new signing in action.

Clearly, the Arsenal boss likes what he sees, as he called Marquinhos up to first-team training on Friday. Arsenal had a match against Brighton on Friday night, so it was notable that Marquinhos wasn’t involved in that game.

With Nicolas Pepe leaving on loan, the Gunners likely wanted to hold Marquinhos back in case he was needed for Saturday’s squad, and perhaps Arteta wanted to give him a chance to earn that spot in training.

But this doesn’t necessarily mean Marquinhos will be involved on Saturday. After all, Pepe wasn’t in Arsenal’s last squad, and Arsenal still managed to name the full 20 players.

Whether Marquinhos’ appearances in first-team training are a sign of things to come or just a temporary opportunity while Arsenal search for a new winger remains to be seen.

We know Arsenal aren’t planning to loan the 19-year-old, so he’ll hope he’s set for Europa League opportunities in the coming weeks.