Charlie Patino provided an assist for Swansea City’s winner against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, his fourth of the loan spell so far.
Arsenal midfielder Charlie Patino has been a rare success story of the club’s batch of loan players so far this season, amid plenty of injuries and selection struggles for much of the rest of the group.
Patino has started 10 of Swansea’s 12 Championship games since his debut as a substitute back in August, and he was in the lineup again to face Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Swansea were coming off the back of a couple of defeats, so they needed some inspiration to turn things around, and Patino set up Liam Cullen for a goal in the 28th minute to do just that.
You can watch the goal here from the timestamp 0:35.
The assist was Patino’s fourth of the campaign, and his fifth goal contribution from his 11 appearances.
The Swansea fans certainly seem enamoured with him, with Jordan Webber of the Swans Cast Podcast writing that Arsenal “seriously need to consider him in the match day squads next season”.
Fourth assist of the season for Charlie Patino.
Arsenal seriously need to consider him in the match day squads next season, lovely footballer.
Trying my best not to fall in love with a loan player… pic.twitter.com/7yNKG2Hv8p
— Jordan (@JordanWebber96) October 28, 2023
One interesting thing to note about Patino’s spell is that he hasn’t been playing the full 90 minutes.
In his last six appearances, Patino has come off between the 65th and 75th minutes on every single occasion, and he’s yet to complete a 90 since joining.
Swansea clearly think Patino operates best in shorter bursts, and given his form, perhaps they’re right.