Five players are currently away from Arsenal on loan with three
of them - Jay
Simpson,
Kieran Gibbs and
Mark Randall - still on British soil. Striker
Simpson has extended his spell at League One
outfit Millwall, while Gibbs and Randall will be at
Championship sides Norwich City and Burnley respectively. On
the continent, promising Mexican striker
Carlos Vela will play his football in Spain with La Liga side
Osasuna, with talented 17-year-old
Fran Merida at Real Sociedad in Spain's second tier.
Keep up-to-date with the fortunes of all our loan stars in our
regular Loan Watch.
Fran Merida
Real Sociedad 2-1 Hercules Alicante, April 6
Fran Merida had another reason to cheer this week as he crashed
home the decisive goal in Real Sociedad's 2-1 win over Hercules
Alicante. The young Spaniard recently signed a new contract with
the Gunners and was described as an 'absolutely amazing'
talent by Arsène Wenger. He certainly proved that on Sunday.
The Basque side had trailed to a 64th-minute strike but hit back 12
minutes from time, before Merida snatched the headlines with his
first goal for his adopted club.
Jay Simpson
Millwall 1-1 Gillingham, April 5
Millwall are just two points off the drop zone after a 1-1 draw
with Gillingham on Saturday. Jay Simpson was introduced 10 minutes
after the restart with the Lions already trailing to a Nicky
Southall strike. Simpson replaced former Arsenal man Ryan Smith and
was delighted as Paul Robinson notched Millwall's equaliser 15
minutes from the end.
Mark Randall
Norwich 2-0 Burnley, April 5
Kieran Gibbs and Mark Randall sat on opposing benches throughout
the 90 minutes as Norwich eased their relegation fears, and in turn
dampened any outside hopes Burnley may have had of promotion, with
a 2-0 win at Carrow Road. Veteran Dion Dublin registered within two
minutes and it stayed that way until Ched Evans, another loanee,
sealed the points in stoppage time.
Kieran Gibbs
Norwich 2-0 Burnley, April 5
Kieran Gibbs and Mark Randall sat on opposing benches throughout
the 90 minutes as Norwich eased their relegation fears, and in turn
dampened any outside hopes Burnley may have had of promotion, with
a 2-0 win at Carrow Road. Veteran Dion Dublin registered within two
minutes and it stayed that way until Ched Evans, another loanee,
sealed the points in stoppage time.
Carlos Vela
Osasuna 0-1 Recreativo Huelva, April 5
Osasuna had to do without the suspended Carlos Vela for their home
game against Recreativo Huelva. They duly lost 1-0.