Arsenal’s loanees have learned their FA Cup draws for the next round, with a few getting the chance to face higher-tier opponents.
The FA completed their third-round draw for the FA Cup this week, with Arsenal receiving a tie away to Oxford United.
There were also eight Arsenal loanees in the draw, and they’ll play in the following ties:
- Crystal Palace vs Southampton (Ainsley Maitland-Niles)
- Forest Green Rovers vs Birmingham City (Auston Trusty)
- Ipswich Town (Tyreece John-Jules) vs Rotherham United (Brooke Norton-Cuffy)
- Blackpool (Charlie Patino) vs Nottingham Forest
- Hartlepool United vs Stoke City (Harry Clarke)
- Hull City (Salah-Eddine Oulad M’hand) vs Fulham
- Chesterfield (Tim Akinola) vs West Bromwich Albion
Patino and Salah-Eddine probably have the most exciting draws, playing at home with Championship sides Blackpool and Hull City against Premier League sides Nottingham Forest and Fulham.
Then there’s also non-league Chesterfield taking on Championship West Bromwich Albion.
League One Ipswich Town face Championship Rotherham United, which should be a chance for two Arsenal loanees to face off. Unfortunately, John-Jules has picked up a long-term injury, and there’s no chance he features in the game.
As for the others, Clarke and Trusty are both playing for Championship sides against lower-league opponents, so they’ll both hope to progress to the next round.
Finally, Maitland-Niles and Southampton face a tough trip to Premier League rivals Crystal Palace.
With any luck, at least a few players on the above list will progress to the fourth round to keep their loan-club-cup-run dreams alive.
The third round matches will take place between Friday, 6th January and Monday, 9th January.