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.
Jay Simpson
Millwall 3-0 Carlisle, April 26
Millwall are safe from relegation, thanks in part to Jay Simpson.
The Gunners man fired the first of the Lions' three goals as
they dealt Carlisle's automatic promotion hopes a big blow at
the New Den on Saturday. Simpson crashed home shortly before
half-time after neat combination with Neil Harris. The latter then
applied the second from the penalty spot before Tony Craig wrapped
up matters with 25 minutes remaining. With the weight of relegation
now lifted from their shoulders, Millwall can relax in their final
fixture of the campaign away at Swindon.
Carlos Vela
Valencia 3-0 Osasuna, April 27
Osasuna remain in a relegation dogfight after their weekend defeat
at fellow strugglers Valencia. Carlos Vela featured from start to
finish, as part of a three-pronged midfield. The visitors started
brightly but suffered a set-back even before a quarter of the match
had elapsed when goalkeeper Ricardo was dismissed for a
professional foul. David Villa added insult to injury, slotting
home the resulting spot-kick. Juan Mata and Joaquin added two more
goals in the second half to leave Osasuna just two points above the
drop.
Kieran Gibbs
Norwich 3-0 QPR, April 26
Kieran Gibbs got 77 minutes under his belt as Norwich City ensured
their Championship status with a 3-0 win over QPR. The Carrow Road
crowd didn't have to wait too long for the game's first
talking point as Damion Stewart was shown a straight red card for a
foul on Ched Evans after just four minutes. Evans' response was
to thump a fierce volley home three minutes later. Mark
Fotheringham doubled the Canaries' lead after the break, and
Darel Russell completed the rout in the closing stages after a
defensive mix-up.
Fran Merida
Malaga 0-2 Real Sociedad, April 26
Real Sociedad travelled to Malaga with Fran Merida in the squad,
but he did not make it off bench. The visitors strolled to a 2-0
victory with goals from Labaka and Gari.
Mark Randall
Burnley 3-3 Cardiff City, April 26
The spoils were eventually shared in a goal fest at Turf Moor on
Saturday, but Mark Randall missed out. FA Cup Finalists Cardiff
City were the visitors but found themselves two down after 54
minutes thanks to Graham Alexander and Andy Cole. The Bluebirds
halved the deficit from the penalty spot thanks to Joe Ledley and
Aaron Ramsey slipped home the equaliser with 20 minutes to go.
Clark Carlisle looked to have won it for Burnley four minues from
time but Steve Thompson stole a point in the dying minutes. The
action wasn't over there though, as Darren Purse was given his
marching orders for a rash challenge on Cole.
