Five Arsenal loanees were in action this week, including Ethan Nwaneri making his Borussia Dortmund Champions League debut.
Arsenal loanees were playing matches almost every single day of last week, starting on Monday with Charles Sagoe Jr.’s 90-minute appearance for Kalmar FF against Djurgarden.
It wasn’t the best start, with Kalmar losing 1-0, but Sagoe Jr. did create two chances and one big chance as his busy loan spell continues.
On Tuesday, Ethan Nwaneri came off the bench for 55 minutes for Borussia Dortmund against Villarreal, with his team winning 3-2 to get off to a good start in the Champions League. Nwaneri only failed to score by a matter of inches, hitting the post in the 50th minute.
On Wednesday, Ismeal Kabia played 77 minutes for St. Mirren away to Rangers, who lost in heartbreaking fashion after his substitution. Then on Thursday, Tommy Setford made one save in a 2-1 win for Stevenage against Jack Wilshere’s Luton Town.
Stevenage were winless in League One prior to Setford’s debut, but they’ve now won two in a row. All the same, he’s still on the hunt for his first clean sheet.
Friday was the only day of the week without an Arsenal loanee appearance, but they were back in action again on Saturday. Nwaneri made his first start for Dortmund in a 3-0 win over SC Paderborn, playing 65 minutes.
On the last day of the week, Sagoe Jr. made another 90-minute appearance in another 1-0 defeat to Elfsborg, before the Arsenal Women’s sole loanee to feature – Sophie Harwood – played 85 minutes of a 3-1 loss for Sheffield United away to Wolves.
Fellow Arsenal Women players Jessie Gale (Newcastle United) and Cecily Wellesley-Smith (Rosengard) remain on international duty with the England u20s, and thus absent from their loan clubs.
Gale and Wellesley-Smith have reached the last-16 of the World Cup, and they’ll face Nigeria on Thursday, September 17th.
As for the other loanees, this week will be a lot less busy until the weekend, when Stevenage travel to Leyton Orient, St. Mirren host Dundee United, Borussia Dortmund face a trip to Stuttgart, Kalmar host Hacken, and the Sheffield United Women play away to Newcastle United.
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