Mikel Arteta is set to spring a surprise in January and allow the man of the hour, Marquinhos to leave Arsenal on loan to gain further first-team experience.
The Brazilian teenager enjoyed a dream debut last week against FC Zurich in the Europa League, netting his first goal before assisting the winner with a delightful cross in a 2-1 victory for the Gunners. Marquinhos was overcome with such emotion he actually burst into tears while celebrating his first strike in an Arsenal shirt.
The overwhelming majority of the Gunners fanbase came away from the tie pleasantly surprised by the efforts of their most unknown summer signing, so news that Arteta could be willing to sanction a temporary departure comes as quite the shock.
According to reports, Arteta harbours concerns over whether the former Sao Paulo star will enjoy enough game time in North London this term at what is quite a crucial stage of his development. The Sun claims the Gunners were actually planning to loan Marquinhos out immediately but held fire due to how impressive he was in training.
In truth, while on the face of things concerns over the amount of playing time he'll get feels legitimate, the plan to send Marquinhos out on loan is one that doesn't really make much sense.
Throughout the last transfer window, it was well documented that the Gunners wanted another right-sided forward to deputise for Bukayo Saka and ease the workload of the England international. Ex-Leeds United star Raphinha was their first target before he eventually joined Barcelona.
Attention turned to Wolves winger Pedro Neto later on in the window, but it became clear Arteta was not willing to meet the asking price for the Portugal international. In the end, however, despite their desire to strengthen in that position, Arsenal remarkably ended the window with one right-winger less than they started with.
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Club-record signing Nicolas Pepe was allowed to return to France for the remainder of the campaign on a season-long loan to OGC Nice. That decision, understandably, led many Gunners fans to believe the club would surely bring in reinforcements.
The idea of Saka having to shoulder the responsibility of the entire right side of Arsenal's attack for another full season seems baffling from Arteta's perspective.
Unexpected injuries to Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny meant the priority in the last few knockings of the window shifted to the centre of midfield, leaving Arsenal incredibly light on the right side of their attack.
As a result, the idea of letting Marquinhos leave the club, albeit on loan when Arsenal are now more in need of a right winger than when the transfer window first opened seems like an even bigger mistake than not signing a new one in the first place.
