Key attributes could earn Arsenal talent more chances under Arteta

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Arsenal thrashed Dundalk 3-0 in the Europa League last night Joe Willock offered Gunners supporters a timely reminder of the quality he brings to the team.

The youngster has lost his way a little bit at the Emirates Stadium but on his day there is no doubting what he offers.

Willock scored for the Gunners last night and one aspect of his game might put him in good shape to earn more first-team chances.

Arsenal do have a lot of midfielders within their ranks but a lot of them bring the same attributes to the table.

Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny bring the defensive steel, whilst Dani Ceballos perhaps is a little more forward-thinking – albeit with a similar skillset.

Willock is what would be considered box-to-box and with that in mind, he must be knocking on the door of Mikel Arteta’s team on a more frequent basis.

Admittedly Dundalk aren’t the strongest of opposition that Arsenal could have faced but for Willock, it was important to impress.

The 21-year-old can play in a number of midfield roles but last night he excelled in a role which allowed him to get into the box – scoring a good goal by doing exactly that.

Willock has made 66 appearances for Arsenal, with plenty of appearances coming from the bench and if his different approach to playing in midfield could help the Gunners.

On £20,000-a-week, the midfielder still has plenty to prove. This was a good start though and he will be desperate to earn a Premier League shot under Arteta.