Arsenal could be set to loan out summer signing Marquinhos in the January transfer window just months into his career in north London, despite his impressive debut in the Europa League victory over FC Zurich last week.
The 19-year-old became Mikel Arteta’s first new addition of the transfer window back in June when he arrived in a £3million move from Brazilian outfit Sao Paulo, before registering a goal and assist on his competitive debut for the club in last Thursday’s 2-1 victory over the Swiss champions.
Despite this, however, Arteta is now considering loaning out Marquinhos in January after becoming concerned that he will not get enough game-time in the first-half of the 2022/23 season to develop his game.
That’s according to The Sun, who also say that Arsenal ’s initial plan was to loan out Marquinhos as soon as he joined the club at the start of the summer, before changing their mind after becoming impressed with his performances in training.
The 19-year-old was restricted to two substitute appearances against Nurnberg and Chelsea during Arsenal’s pre-season programme, before starting in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Brentford, while he was left out of the first three Premier League matchday squads of the season.
Instead, he featured for the under-21’s side in the Premier League 2, where he recorded three goals and one assist in three games, before being rewarded with a place on the bench for first team fixtures against Fulham, Aston Villa and Manchester United.
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GOAL reports that the Gunners are ‘surprised’ with just how far Marquinhos has progressed already, putting him ahead of schedule from where they expected, but his place will still depend on performances and how he adjusts. Nonetheless, a loan move in January is a huge decision to make, given how quickly he has just moved to the club.
But even Arteta has been taken back by the 19-year-old, and when questioned over his decision to block a loan move during the summer, he said: "He’s a really likeable figure in the dressing room and around [London] Colney even if his language is not great yet.
"I think his physicality has been pretty exceptional for someone coming from Brazil with a different way to train and to play the way he’s done it. I think he’s got very good qualities for how we want to play."
It is arguable to say that if it was not for Reiss Nelson’s injury, then Marquinhos may not have started last week’s victory over FC Zurich. Yet his impressive performance in that game has opened Arteta’s eyes to the bigger picture.
The Gunners view Marquinhos as a future star but still believe it could be more beneficial for all parties if the youngster is sent out on loan in the winter window, although that will only happen if Arteta is able to sign another winger following the departure of Nicolas Pepe last month.
It will also come down to whether Arteta believes that appearances in the Europa League and the Carabao Cup, as well as opportunities off the bench in the Premier League, are enough for Marquinhos to develop off between now and the new year, with the belief that he can become a real star should he be able to develop further elsewhere.
