Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery threw the gauntlet down to Joe Willock 12 months ago.
Last October, six weeks before the Spaniard was sacked, Emery called on academy star Joe Willock to become the Gunners’ long-term replacement for Aaron Ramsey [The Sun].
Arsenal had released the long-serving Wales international a few months earlier and his absence was being felt by the North London club.
The Juventus midfielder was a popular and important player during Arsene Wenger’s time, scoring the winner in two FA Cup finals between 2014 and 2017.
Ramsey, who scored 16 goals across all competitions during the 2013-14 campaign, had a knack of making that darting run into the box at just the right time.
And maybe Emery might’ve been on to something because Willock displayed the same instincts in last night’s Europa League win over Dundalk.
Yes, it’s only Dundalk, a team from the Republic of Ireland, but the 21-year-old scored an excellent second goal in the 3-0 victory, side-footing into the roof of the net after making a Ramsey-type run into the box.
Quite a few Arsenal midfielders, like Dani Ceballos, prefer to quarter-back things from outside the penalty area, but Willock, like his former team-mate, is always looking to sniff out a goal for himself.
Emery didn’t get much right at the Emirates Stadium as it turned out, but he might’ve been spot-on with how he saw Willock’s game evolving.
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