After a convincing victory in Europa League on Thursday, Mikel Arteta had some promising language for his youngsterJoe Willock.
“He’s a player I like – he has some special qualities and he’s showing it with his performances, his goals, and his attitude,” Mikel Arteta praised Willock’s performance on The Sun UK.
Arteta emphasized that a chance for Willock in an English Premier League’s game would be given to him following the game last Thursday against Molde. The 21-year-old player helped Arsenal to overturn the early disadvantage by forcing two own goals and scoring one in the 88th minute.
Willock has already played in all 3 of Arsenal’s Europa League matches so far, but he didn’t have a chance to appear in English Premier League. Nonetheless, according to Mikel Arteta, the youngster will be given an opportunity soon.
“Joe Willock could have scored more, he created a goal and a good performance,” Arteta talked on BT Sport. “Keep doing what he is doing consistently and his chance will arrive [in the Premier League].”
Willock, who has featured for Arsenal in 29 games last season, said that he is happy to wait for a chance. The young midfielder admitted that he would accept the opportunity with both hands.
“I’m just taking it game by game. It’s part of my journey and I’m just a kid. I have to keep learning. I’m trying to work hard and when I get a chance in the Premier League, hopefully, I can do the same thing,” Willock said on BT Sport.
Despite going behind in the 22nd minute, Arsenal put themselves back in the front thanks to Joe Willock.
The Englishman’s excellent dribbling skills cost Molde two own goals, which granted Arsenal the score advantage in the second half. Moreover, Willock got his name on the score sheet with a powerful finishing late on.
“In the first half they started really sharp and we had to stick with it. We didn’t get frustrated. I had a couple of chances earlier in the game but I wasn’t making a mistake with that one.” Willock said.
After a successful performance, Willock received the Man of the Match award. Along with this, the young player got a score of 8/10.
Arteta understands that he will have a selection difficulty for midfield in the game this Sunday again Aston Villa. “I think he was really strong in his performance. The way he’s approaching every opportunity shows how mature he is.” Arteta said during his press conference.
“The thing is that we have a big squad a the moment. I really trust him. This is the competition that we are not treating to give young players a chance. This is a competition we’re taking seriously.” Arteta added.
It is the third victory of Arsenal in the Europa League, and the Gunners are sealing the qualifications for the knock-out stage.
Anyway, the Gunners will continue their week this Sunday when they compete against Aston Villa in the Premier League. For Willock, he potentially will have the first time in Premier League outing this season. His recent form in the European tournament is rocketing, and hopefully, we will all see him this Sunday against Aston Villa.
According to BT Sport and The Sun UK