Three key passes in 18 minutes: 20-year-old Arsenal loanee shines after coming off bench in club’s defeat

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Arsenal loanee Marquinhos is certainly pushing for a first start for Nantes with one staggering statistic emerging from his latest display for the Ligue 1 side on Sunday.

Marquinhos only got a couple of minutes when he made his debut against Toulouse earlier this month. But the Brazilian got a little longer against Lille this weekend.

It proved to be a disappointing day for Nantes, as they were beaten 2-0. Jonathan David had broken the deadlock midway through the second-half. And the points were wrapped up for the home side in stoppage-time.

Marquinhos came on with 18 minutes of normal time remaining. And according to Whoscored, he went on to provide three key passes in that brief period of time on the pitch.

Marquinhos impresses for Nantes despite defeat

Remarkably, no player on either side managed to make a greater number of key passes. The only player to tie Marquinhos, Angel Gomes, was on the pitch until the 91st minute.

Of course, the 20-year-old did not end up registering an assist. But he is clearly threatening to make things happen. He also managed to get two shots away during those latter stages of the game.

Obviously, it is going to be difficult for Marquinhos to send an emphatic message to Mikel Arteta. Ultimately, Folarin Balogun was one of the best players in France last season. And yet, he could potentially leave the club in the near future.

Arsenal have elevated themselves since they signed Marquinhos. So the bar has been raised. That makes the task facing youngsters like the winger all the harder.

But if he is going to make the grade at the Emirates, he surely needs to make a big impact while away this year.

He is off to an encouraging start.