Arsenal loanee Harrison Dudziak has been praised by Braintree Town manager Steve Pitt for an “outstanding” senior debut against Hartlepool United.
Arsenal youngster Harrison Dudziak joined National League side Braintree Town on an initial one-month loan over the weekend, joining the English fifth-tier club amid rival interest from sixth-tier Enfield Town.
Braintree Town boss Steve Pitt revealed on Sunday how they won the race for the signing.
“I know Max Porter very, very well, the Arsenal u21s coach,” Pitt revealed. “I messaged Max having spoken to Harrison’s agent and got a profile on Harrison which was all really, really good.
“Looked at clips, took some more advice and I decided that he would be a perfect replacement for Marley (Marshall-Miranda, who left Braintree for Boreham Wood last week) as a box-to-box midfielder, industrious, hard-working, etc.”
Dudziak went on to make his debut for Braintree immediately, playing 90 minutes for the team in a 0-0 draw on Saturday.
Though it wasn’t quite the winning start the Arsenal loanee might have hoped for, it was a good result for relegation-battling Braintree against promotion-chasing Hartlepool.
Reflecting on Dudziak’s performance, Pitt was clearly impressed with his team’s new signing.
“I thought you saw the benefits of that today,” Pitt added. “Harrison and Ben (Drake) were absolutely outstanding. Bearing in mind they’ve never played a game in senior football in their lives.
“[That’s] testament to their backgrounds, testament to their characters, and testament to my staff who have worked with them for the last couple of days on the training ground.
“So with the new acquisitions [I’m] absolutely delighted, and I hope the fans are as well because I thought both boys acquitted themselves exceptionally well against a really, really experienced, seasoned side that are on the cusp of the play-offs.”
19-year-old Dudziak had made 13 appearances for the Arsenal academy this season prior to his loan move, with those appearances split between the Premier League 2, the EFL Trophy, and the UEFA Youth League.
Braintree have five more matches scheduled between now and the end of Dudziak’s initial loan on January 21st, with the last of those five games perhaps the one to look forward to.
Braintree will host Boreham Wood on January 17th, with Dudziak potentially facing off against the player he replaced in Marshall-Miranda.
After that, Arsenal and Braintree will have a decision to make about whether to extend the loan or end it. With the January transfer window open by then, the Gunners may be open to other offers.