BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND: Michal Rosiak of Arsenal during the UEFA Youth League match between Arsenal and Shakhtar Donetsk at Meadow Park on October 22, 2024. (Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images)

Arsenal ready to loan midfielder with Blackburn Rovers interested

Nov 4, 2024

Arsenal are set to loan Michal Rosiak in January and Blackburn Rovers are among the clubs interested, according to a report.

Alan Nixon reports on his Patreon page that Arsenal are willing to loan out Michal Rosiak in the January transfer window, and there’s a lot of interest in the Gunners youngster.

Nixon claims Blackburn Rovers are among the Championship clubs chasing the midfielder’s signature, having seen Rosiak in action against their u21 side just last week.

Michal Rosiak chases Gabriel Martinelli in training (Photo via Arsenal.com)

Rosiak currently operates as a defensive midfielder, though he did spend time at right-back earlier in his youth career.

The 19-year-old is a set-piece specialist, with many of his goals coming from free-kicks, and he’s represented Poland at u19 level in the past.

This season, Rosiak has exclusively featured with the Arsenal u21s in the Premier League 2 and the EFL Trophy, and the u19s in the UEFA Youth League.

He’s captained Arsenal in each of their three Youth League matches so far, providing an assist for their winning goal against PSG.

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 23: Michal Rosiak of Arsenal celebrates scoring to make it 3-2 during the FA Youth Cup Fifth round match between Arsenal and Cambridge United at Emirates Stadium on February 23, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) — LONDON, ENGLAND: Michal Rosiak of Arsenal celebrates scoring to make it 3-2 during the FA Youth Cup Fifth round match between Arsenal and Cambridge United at Emirates Stadium on February 23, 2023. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Yet despite his key role for the u21s, Rosiak doesn’t seem close to stepping up to the Arsenal first team.

Perhaps he’s breaking through at a bad time, with Arsenal having plenty of experienced defensive midfielders at the moment. Declan Rice, Thomas Partey, and Jorginho have all played the role this season.

There’s also competition from Myles Lewis-Skelly, who has often played at left-back for the first team, but who primarily operated as a midfielder for the academy.

If any youth player gets a chance at the base of Mikel Arteta’s midfield this season, it’s likely to be Lewis-Skelly.

So a loan looks like a good way to bridge the gap between being a key player for Arsenal u21s and perhaps finding a way into the senior side in the future.