Though Tom Smith’s run of clean sheets came to an end on Saturday, the Arsenal loanee helped Colchester United to secure safety in League Two.

Arsenal goalkeeper Tom Smith started his fourth consecutive match for Colchester United on Saturday, having kept clean sheets in his three previous games – which were his first three matches for the club.

That run of clean sheets didn’t continue against Sutton United this weekend, with the away side scoring the opening goal. But Smith made a couple of key saves as his team rallied to take control of the game and eventually win 4-1.

Colchester’s upturn in form with Smith in the side has been quite incredible, going from nine games without a win to three wins and three clean sheets in four games.

But most importantly, their latest three points has now secured their League Two safety with two games remaining.

One Colchester fan wrote on social media that Smith “has been brilliant for us”, and the goalkeeper will be pleased to have had the chance to make an impact.

The 21-year-old didn’t immediately break into the Colchester team after completing his January loan. In fact, he had to wait over two months for a chance.

He eventually got his break earlier this month, when first-choice goalkeeper Kieran O’Hara had to pull out of their match against Crewe Alexandra at the last minute.

But after three consecutive clean sheets, it was no surprise to see him still in goal at the weekend.

Another couple of strong performances to round out the season would put the youngster in a much better position to assess his next steps in the summer than anyone could have predicted a few weeks ago.