William Saliba is certainly a reference point for the Arsenal players currently out on loan this season.
Following an impressive spell with Marseille last year - his third stint away from the Gunners overall after signing for £27m in the summer of 2019 - the France international returned to north London ahead of the new campaign and has quickly established himself as a key player under Mikel Arteta.
Earning another man-of-the-match award against Chelsea, he can be a sign of things to come for many members of the Arsenal loan army who will be hoping for a chance to replicate what Saliba has done so far next season. And with that in mind football.london takes a look at how they got on this weekend.
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Once again, Pablo Mari didn't feature for AC Monza as they beat Verona on Sunday, but following the fantastic news that the defender has been discharged from the hospital following surgery to reconstruct damaged back muscles after being injured in a supermarket stabbing in Milan, he watched on from the stands after greeting supporters before kick-off.
A week after impressing in a defensive midfield role and emerging as a potential competitor for Thomas Partey, it was back to a full-back role for Ainsley Maitland-Niles as Southampton lost 4-1 at home to Newcastle United. The 25-year-old was part of a defence that was heavily criticised by Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness and is now set for a new manager following confirmation of Ralph Hasenhuttl's sacking.
Arthur Okonkwo kept a clean sheet as Crewe Alexandra beat Leyton Orient in the FA Cup first round, but Runar Alex Runarsson was beaten three times as Alanyaspor lost to Umranyie. Auston Trusty had a mixed afternoon for Birmingham City as despite being on the winning side, he did concede the penalty which offered Stoke City - featuring Harry Clarke - a lifeline.
In Ligue 1, Nuno Tavares' Marseille bounced back from their midweek Champions League exit at the hands of Tottenham to record a 1-0 win over Alexandre Lacazette's Lyon, whilst Folarin Balogun scored an 83rd-minute penalty to give Reims a 1-0 win over Nantes and Nicolas Pepe was in the Nice side that beat Brest.
Elsewhere in the Championship, an illness limited Charlie Patino to just 45 minutes of action as Blackpool lost at home to Luton Town, Brooke Norton-Cuffy played at left-wing back as Rotherham lost to Norwich City and Salah-Eddine didn't feature in Hull City's goalless draw at Millwall.
Tyreece John-Jules could feature in Ipswich Town's FA Cup tie away at Bracknell Town on Monday night. Whilst it's already the end of the road in the competition for Mazeed Ogungbo as Crawley Town lost 4-1 at home against Accrington Stanley, Tim Akinola's Chesterfield will be in the hat for the round two draw after they beat Northampton in one of the shock results and Ovie Ejeheri was in goal as Chelmsford City earned a replay against Barnet.
North of the border, Alex Kirk scored in Ayr United's 1-1 draw with Morton in the Scottish Championship and Ryan Alebiosu's return to the Kilmarnock starting line-up was ruined as Livingston came out on top in a five-goal thriller on Friday night.
Arsenal have as many as five youngsters out on loan at clubs across Europe - mainly in the Netherlands - but Mika Biereth didn't play as RKC Waalwijk beat AZ 3-1 and Omar Rekik missed Sparta Rotterdam's 4-0 win over Vitesse with a muscle injury. Although Nikolaj Moller did lead the line for Den Bosch as they beat De Graafschap.
In Spain's second tier, Marcelo Flores and Miguel Azeez were unused substitutes for Real Oviedo and Ibiza FC' respectively.
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