Owen Hargreaves suggests Joe Willock might need to leave Arsenal to get regular game time

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Owen Hargreaves has suggested to BT Sport that Joe Willock might have to leave Arsenal to get regular game time, after the young midfielder scored his first goal of the season in a 3-0 Europa League win over Dundalk on Thursday night.

Willock, 21, is yet to play a single minute of Premier League football this season – instead feeding off scraps in the cup competitions. He has made six appearances, starting two Carabao Cup games and then on Thursday night.

It is a step back for Willock who did make a huge 44 appearances in all competitions last season – though 24 of those were from the substitutes bench. He managed to complete 90 minutes on just five occasions during 2019-20.

He scored into the roof of the net on Thursday – his eighth senior goal for the Gunners. Hargreaves discussed the midfielder after the match, and stated he needs game time, but does not believe he will get the necessary amount at Arsenal.

“He’s got great instincts,” Hargreaves said. “He has a good feel for the game. He’s very brave, he could be really good just depending on who is his partner – who is he with. I think there is a really good player in there.

“It is just about getting that right fit. At his age, he needs to play games. I think right now, at Arsenal, he is not going to get a ton of games, ” Hargreaves continued, during BT Sport’s coverage of Arsenal’s win over Dundalk.

TBR’s view – What should Willock do next?

Mo Elneny has returned to the club after a loan at Besiktas and impressed. Thomas Partey has been signed from Atletico Madrid and Dani Ceballos has rejoined the club on loan. Granit Xhaka also remains – and all four are above Willock in the pecking order.

Yes, Willock is slightly more attacking than Xhaka, Elneny and Partey but Mikel Arteta hardly uses a number 10 – just ask Mesut Ozil. If he continues to miss out in the Premier League, Willock needs a loan move in January.

Premier League clubs would be willing to take the England Under-21 international on loan and Willock might have to seriously consider such a move in the coming weeks and months.