Arsenal’s Hubert Graczyk, Billy Vigar, and Mauro Bandeira made their first appearances for their loan clubs in friendly matches this week.

Arsenal finalised a few youth loans this week, with Mauro Bandeira joining Colchester United, Billy Vigar moving to Eastbourne Borough, and Hubert Graczyk signing for Slough Town.

The trio wasted no time getting out onto the pitch with their new clubs in pre-season, with all three now already having made their debuts.

Bandeira was the first to make an appearance, playing for Colchester United as a substitute in a friendly just hours after completing his move on Tuesday.

After 15 minutes against Stevenage, Bandeira then went on to make his first start in another friendly against Peterborough United, playing 75 minutes. Both matches finished 1-1.

Graczyk then got a chance for Slough Town against Uxbridge FC, keeping a clean sheet in a dominant 6-0 victory for his new side. He’ll feel he could hardly have had a better start.

After that, Vigar came on for Eastbourne Borough as a second-half substitute against Charlton Athletic. Vigar played the full second half of another 1-1 draw.

Loan spells are unpredictable, but a strong start often seems to prove the key to success.

If you can get into the team early on and have a few good games, the manager is much less likely to drop you later. Conversely, it can be very difficult to break in if you start the season on the bench.

It looks like Arsenal’s early loanees are getting chances to show what they can do, which is good to see.