It turned out to be a rather interesting weekend for several members of this season's Arsenal loan army.
Most notably Charlie Patino and Omar Rekik. The former started for Blackpool in their 1-0 win over Auston Trusty's Birmingham City, whilst the latter helped Wigan Athletic beat Championship play-off-chasing Millwall. What those results mean is both clubs kept their chances of survival alive.
However, with two games of the campaign remaining for both teams, they must win their respective fixtures next weekend - against Millwall and Reading - and hope results elsewhere go their way otherwise relegation to League One for the 2023/24 season could be confirmed.
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Now for one reason or another, none of Nicolas Pepe, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Marquinhos, Cedric Soares, Runar Alex Runarsson, Marcelo Flores, Tyreece John-Jules, Mika Biereth, Ryan Alebiosu, Miguel Azeez, Alex Kirk, Mazeed Ogungbo, Taylor Foran, Kido Taylor-Hart or Billy Vigar featured in a competitive fixture for their respective clubs over the weekend.
However, Brooke Norton-Cuffy came off the bench to help Coventry City boost their chances of sealing a Championship play-off spot, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji made a substitute appearance as Accrington Stanley lost 1-0 away at Portsmouth, Tom Smith's run of three straight clean sheets was broken although Colchester United beat Sutton United and in the National League, Tim Akinola came off the bench as Chesterfield were beaten by Bromley.
Across Europe, Folarin Balogun now trails Kylian Mbappe by four in the Ligue 1 top goalscorer charts after drawing a blank in Reims' defeat by Strasbourg, Nikolaj Moller scored an 86th-minute winner for Den Bosch away at Roda and still managed to get sent off, Ovie Ejeheri kept a clean sheet for SJK and Arthur Okonkwo was beaten twice as Sturm Graz lost at home to Red Bull Salzburg.
With that in mind, below football.london rounds up the big headlines regarding the remaining Arsenal loanees from the weekend.
Permanent transfer even closer
It's just a matter of time before Monza confirm their status as a Serie A side for next season and therefore Pablo Mari's £5.9m transfer can be completed. Trailing 2-0 at home to Fiorentina after 13 minutes, Raffaele Palladino's side completed a stunning turnaround to win 3-2 and remain 15 points clear of the relegation zone with seven games remaining.
Tavares injury
Nuno Tavares was absent from the Marseille matchday squad against Lyon, thus missing out on a reunion with former Arsenal teammate Alexandre Lacazette. The reason for the Portugal U21 international being left out, as per RMC Sport, is a result of picking up a knock in training.
Maitland-Niles exit
Ainsley Maitland-Niles was ineligible to face his parent club on Friday night as Southampton left the Emirates Stadium with a point in the six-goal thriller. But the versatile midfielder has since confirmed he will be departing Arsenal on a free transfer when his contract expires in June.
"It’s been a great journey but it has come to an end now (at Arsenal)", he told The Athletic. "It’s time for a fresh start and to find a new home. I’m looking forward to that but, at the same time, my head’s not quite there yet and it’s all about what’s happening now with Southampton. I’m just fully focused on trying to help us stay up and stay positive on a day-to-day basis and win games.
"When the time gets closer towards the end of the season, I’ll have something else to think about. But right now, I’m just focused on football and the task at hand. Southampton is a great club to be at and progress and get some minutes under my belt. Of course, if they were to make an offer, I’ll be more than happy to stay."
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