Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown is calling on Mikel Arteta to hand more opportunities to midfielder Joe Willock after his eye-catching display in the 3-0 win over Dundalk in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
Willock netted the Gunners' second of the night just before half time before teeing up Nicolas Pepe immediately after the interval to wrap up the victory once and for all.
It was a commanding performance from the Gunners academy graduate, as he lined up in a midfield paring alongside Mohamed Elneny.
Willock had only featured five times for Arsenal this season before Thursday evening's triumph, with Arteta having no shortage of central-midfield options ahead of him in the pecking order. However, after such an impressive showing, Keown is hoping the midfielder will be handed more opportunities over the course of the season to prove his worth.
Following the full time whistle, Keown told BT Sport: “When I watched him last season, certainly late in the season, he was coming on late in games and he wasn’t really sure of where to be on the pitch.
"Arteta, I know is a great tactician, but I want to see more given to him, I want to work with Willock and see what we can really get with him.
"He needs to know when to release the ball, when to run with the ball and make the right decisions. That was an improvement today, but when Arsenal are out of possession, where is he going to be?
"He needs to learn that. He’s used to playing with a three when Arsenal play with a deep-lying midfielder, it’s going to be a two now - it’s up for grabs.
"[Thomas] Partey’s going to play in that team, who’s going to play with him?
"Elneny’s come back off loan, he’s done well, but Willock will feel he should be playing there.”
BT Sport pundit Keown was not alone in delivering a glowing assessment of the 21-year-old's performance, with Owen Hargreaves, alongside Keown in the BT Sport studio, also singing the praises of his performance, insisting he is a "really good" player.
“Mikel’s great with the young guys, but there’s only really two centre-midfielders in there, and I think he’s great in a three when he can arrive in the box," Hargreaves said.
"When you play with two in there, you have to be really disciplined, sit and stand still, so maybe it has slightly affected his position.
"I think he’s a really good player and he’s going to get a chance to play. He showed tonight, if he gets a chance - he can play.
"The point is, he can do so much, he gets in the box in the right place at the right time. He wants it to feet, he’s always on the half-turn, which is nice to see.
"Today I saw a bit more athleticism rather than just coasting in there. His overall game is really good.”
