Five players are currently away from Arsenal on loan. Swiss
international defender
Johan Djourou will be getting valuable Premiership experience
after joining newly-promoted Birmingham City until January.
Elsewhere, defender
Matthew Connolly will spend the entire campaign at Championship
club Colchester United while
Kerrea Gilbert and
Jay Simpson will be in League One with Southend United
and Millwall respectively. Promising Mexican striker
Carlos Vela will play his football in Spain with La Liga side
Osasuna.
Keep up-to-date with the fortunes of all our loan stars in our
regular Loan Watch.
Matthew Connolly
Colchester 2-3 Watford, December 4, Cardiff City 4-1
Colchester, December 8
A tough week for Matt Connolly and Colchester could not be lifted
by the fact the youngster got himself on the scoresheet. He had
scored the second of two first-half goals against Watford before
the Hornets rallied after the break to record a 3-2 win. Still
hurting, The U's travelled to Cardiff on Saturday only to be
humbled by Dave Jones' men 4-1.
Carlos Vela
Osasuna 0-0 Valencia, December 8
Carlos Vela played throughout Osasuna's stalemate with Valencia
on Saturday. The well-earned point is a big lift for the struggling
Spanish outfit against one of the favourites for the La Liga
title.
Jay Simpson
Leyton Orient 0-1 Millwall, December 4, Luton P-P Millwall,
December 8
Millwall were expected to play Luton on Saturday but heavy rain
rendered the pitch unplayable. Earlier in the week the Lions had
notched their first away of the season by defeating high-flying
Leyton Orient 1-0, a game in which Jay Simpson came off the bench
with 23 minutes remaining.
Johan Djourou
Newcastle 2-1 Birmingham City, December 8
Johan Djourou sat out as Birmingham hearts were broken by
Newcastle's Habib Beye's last-minute winner at St
James' Park - his first for the club. Cameron Jerome had put
the Blues in control with a fine goal early on, but a contentious
award of a penalty allowed Obafemi Martins to level the scores
before the break. It brings Alex McLeish's charges back down to
earth with a bump after last week's smash-and-grab raid at
Tottenham.
Kerrea Gilbert
Southend United 4-1 Huddersfield, December 5, Southend United 2-1
Swindon, December 8
Frustration continues for Kerrea Gilbert as he failed to make the
squad for Southend's home wins against Huddersfield and
Swindon.
