Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock has told BT Sport, during their live Europa League coverage, that he wants to stay and fight for his place at the Emirates Stadium.
Willock made more appearances for Arsenal than any other player last season, but he has been consistently overlooked this term.
The youngster did show his quality last night though, as Arsenal beat Dundalk 3-0 in the Europa League.
Willock scored and got an assist, and he is hoping that his display and the extra work he is doing in training will convince Arteta to give him more frequent opportunities.
“To be honest he just told me to keep working hard in training and he’ll give me an opportunity,” Willock said.
“I’m here to fight and I said to him that I want to fight for my position. Hopefully I get more opportunities like today so I can show what I can do.
“I’m doing a bit extra in training on finishing. I am working on little things that I want to do.”
If Arteta does keep with his 4-3-3 shape then Willock could present an appealing option for Arteta.
With Thomas Partey sitting, Willock looks ready-made to play in one of the wider central midfield slots, due to his energy.
He would be in competition with Dani Ceballos and Granit Xhaka for a first-team place though, so his task of breaking into Arsenal’s starting line-up looks challenging.
Arsenal are next in action against Manchester United at the weekend, when it will be interesting to see whether Willock is backed to feature again, or left on the bench.
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