Glenn Hoddle gave his take on Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock on BT Sport 2 (11:14pm, November 5, 2020).
The Tottenham Hotspur legend was impressed by the display produced by Willock during Arsenal’s 4-1 win against Molde at the Emirates Stadium in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
The 21-year-old midfielder started the match and played for the entire 90 minutes, and he scored a wonderful goal in the 88th minute.
According to WhoScored, the youngster took four shots of which two were on target and one ended in goal, played one key pass, had a pass accuracy of 92.7%, won one header, took 71 touches, attempted two dribbles, made four tackles and two clearances, and put in five crosses.
Former England international midfielder Hoddle rates Willock highly, but the ex-Tottenham and Chelsea man does not think that he can get in the Arsenal team on a regular basis due to Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny look good in a midfield-two.
Hoddle said about Willock on BT Sport 2 (11:14pm, November 5, 2020): “I think he is really a great prospect, he really is.”
The BT Sport pundit added: ”He is a really good youngster for me. I am trying to work out how he is going to get in this Arsenal team, and I can’t see it at the moment unfortunately for the young man because they want to play two in the centre of midfield.
“Elneny and Partey look really good in there with the system that Arteta wants to play. I think Arteta’s looking at what Pep probably did with him when he was at Man City with Foden.”
Staying patient
Willock is only 21 years of age, and his youthful vigour and dynamism are assets for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
The youngster is unlikely to establish himself as a regular in the starting lineup anytime soon, but getting chances in the Europa League and in cup competitions and coming on as a substitute in Premier League matches will help him grow and develop as a footballer.
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