Just six of Arsenal’s loanees played across 13 matches on Saturday, as injuries continue to cause problems for the group.
There are quite a few injury absentees from Arsenal’s loan group right now, with Kieran Tierney (Real Sociedad), Mika Biereth (Motherwell), Tyreece John-Jules (Derby), Nuno Tavares (Nottingham Forest), and Albert Sambi Lokonga (Luton Town) all absent.
Kido Taylor-Hart was also missing for Bromley FC, though it’s not clear whether that was through injury or simply a selection decision.
There were also a few players who made their teams’ squads, but didn’t play in the match, namely Nathan Butler-Oyedeji (Cheltenham Town), Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson (Cardiff City), and Mauro Bandeira (Colchester United).
Brooke Norton-Cuffy did make the starting lineup for Millwall against Preston North End in the early Championship kick-off, playing the full 90 minutes for just the second time this season. The match finished 1-1.
In the 3pm kick-offs, Arthur Okonkwo (Wrexham), Charlie Patino (Swansea City), Billy Vigar (Eastbourne Borough), and Alex Kirk (Bromley) all made their teams starting lineups.
Okonkwo put in a good performance in a 1-1 draw with Bradford City, Patino helped Swansea take the lead against Leicester City only for the away side to turn things around for 3-1, and Vigar and Kirk played 90 and 45 minutes respectively in their non-league clashes.
Omar Rekik (Wigan Athletic) is the only other player to mention, coming off the bench to help them to see out a 2-0 win over Exeter City.
Clearly, Arsenal would want a greater percentage of their loanees in action on a Saturday, but injuries have wreaked havoc on the group. An uneventful day of loan football is probably a good one right now.