Why Arsenal should hold onto Joe Willock amidst Bayern interest

According to a report in the Metro, Bayern Munich have been linked with a move for Arsenal youngster Joe Willock. The 19-year-old is part of Arsenal’s current crop of talented youngsters along with Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe but hasn’t got much game time.

He made three Europa League appearances, including being a part of the final in Baku and two Premier League appearances last season.

This suggests that he does have a role to play under Unai Emery, who has shown favour towards the youth. Willock is a steady midfielder, who keeps things tidy and uses his position to anticipate any danger. He’s been fairly impressive in the pre-season, especially in the game against Bayern Munich.

Bayern, along with other Germans clubs, have had young English players moving to the Bundesliga in recent seasons with the likes of Ademola Lookman, Jadon Sancho, Reece Oxford and others.

German clubs are ready to offer more minutes to young players but the same cannot be said of the Premier League.

Premier League managers are under a lot of pressure to get results, which makes it difficult to provide younger players with adequate game time. Just like there’s no guarantee that Willock will get to play more games at the Emirates, the same applies to the Allianz Arena.

Bayern also have a lot of pressure on them after losing to Dortmund in the German Super cup last week. They also lost out on the league title and got knocked out of the Champions League Round of 16 last season.

Willock is bound to get more opportunities next season and it’s important that he takes his chances when he gets them. There’s always a possibility that players will suffer an injury in a long and arduous season and Willock would get more game time in the coming season in the Europa League and other cup competitions.

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Conclusion

Arsenal haven’t played Champions League football for a while now and they’ll be hoping to change that in the coming season. It’ll be important for the Gunners to have some depth and Willock will have a massive part to play in that.