Loan movements often come down to what is needed for the development of an individual: Arsenal‘s charlie patino is to find that in Blackpool. Players are rarely sent to teams where they will have it easy, they will be sent to places where they can accept the reality of professional soccer and where they will be pushed to improve.
the arsenal has cultivated informal relationships with various clubs in the English football league to help their young players mature. Blackpool is one of them, taking three Arsenal players on loan in three successive seasons, with Patiño the latest to prove himself in mandarin after defender. dan ballard and forward Tyreece John Jules.
The initial plan was for the 19-year-old to stay at Arsenal this season with the possibility of Europa League and Carabao Cup minutes. Instead, his first loan has provided a platform to become more complete than if he spent most part of the year playing academy soccer again. The midfielder has made 24 appearances for Blackpool and faced different but more beneficial challenges than he would have if he had stayed on.
He England The under-20 international has been used in different roles in midfield. He has been used as number 6 and number 8 where his natural qualities have shone through, but there has been a steep learning curve with the demands of senior football.
He FA Cup travel to Premier league southampton providing a look at those challenges and it was well timed by the athletic, with the highly rated youngster scoring Blackpool’s goal, his third of the season, in a 2-1 defeat.
Patiño’s contributions without the ball are what has revealed the most about his loan. There is no hiding place in Blackpool’s midfield and although there will be room for improvement, he has shown that he is willing throughout his struggles at the bottom of the Championship.
This area of his game has been evident in his game since his academy days. Most will remember this goal against manchester united Sub-23 last season.
Simply stunning from @CharliePatino10 🤩 pic.twitter.com/fqi6pXMqCV
— Arsenal Academy (@ArsenalAcademy) September 12, 2021
What you may not remember is that Patino launched onto the touchline minutes later to win a 50-50 win at the halfway line. Similarly, his goal against sunderlands It will be the most memorable moment of his Arsenal debut, but one can forget that his first touch came earning a header in midfield.
Being willing must be combined with being able, which is a big part of what this loan is about. At the start of the year, his 27 interceptions were the most by any English teenager in Europe this season.
He doesn’t win every challenge he faces, but he is willing to fight for the ball, which he did on numerous occasions at Southampton and helps build trust with managers.
“He’s right, Charlie,” said Mick McCarthy, who just replaced Michael Appleton as manager, after his first game in charge.
“He’s a young man and sometimes he doesn’t always get it right. He could push and pass, but in the first half he lost it in front of us 20 yards into his half and got it back in the 18-yard box on the other side of the field. I told him, ‘If you can do that, you’ll do it for me.
“The will to do it is great. I’ve loved working with him these last few days, he’s going to be a very good player”.
Patiño’s slalom runs have always been a feature of his game in possession. It has managed to pull them off when used in more advanced areas, but has been met with more resistance as teams become more familiar with it.
Early in the season, it wasn’t uncommon to see him fend off challenges and make passes into the final third. Opposition midfielders have begun to take a more hands-on approach to stopping him, such as in Blackpool’s away defeat to watford this month.
After Patino walked away mario gasparThe initial pressure of…
…his counterpart responded by nearly ripping his shirt off his back.
That need to be quicker on the ball was present against Premier League rivals at St Mary’s. He moved the ball around with just one or two touches for the most part, but with Blackpool more geared towards beating Southampton at half-time than carving their way up the pitch, finding a steady rhythm through passing was difficult.
Given Blackpool’s approach in their first game under McCarthy (who used Patino on the left of a midfield three in a 3-5-2), making the box off-the-ball runs on those quick attacks was key.
He did it in the first half to reach the end of a quick move down the right but his shot was tame. When a similar opportunity presented itself in the second half, he was well positioned to score Blackpool’s first goal under his new manager, which was not unlike his first goal for Arsenal.
He’s @CharliePatino10 🎶🍊
He @Arsenal man on loan in @BlackpoolFC with a neat finish#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/SfR8dOrPt1
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 28, 2023
Patino showed glimpses of positives when Appleton used him more deeply, but his game naturally lends itself to license to join/drive attacks and sign a defensive midfielder. Tom Trybull it can give you more opportunity to do that. Having won the love of the fans with a goal against their arch-rivals North end of PrestonMcCarthy expects more to follow.
Arsenal’s Charlie Patino is certainly giving Mikel Arteta something to think about with his performances on loan at Blackpool 🤩@Arsenal | @BlackpoolFC | @EFL pic.twitter.com/rHu2hfuJg5
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) October 22, 2022
Exposure to all these facets of the midfield has been essential.
“You have to be able to play multiple roles in multiple systems,” said Arsenal’s under-23 head coach last season, Kevin Betsy. the athletic. “We are asking him to be the complete midfielder.
“That demands, he has to receive the ball and build attacks for us, he has to be able, when playing in advanced positions, to be creative with his forward pass or join the attack and make the box. That is the complete game of a midfielder and defensively he has to be able to press and block.
“His understanding of the game is at a high level and we can operate him in different roles, because when the opportunity to play presents itself, be it in our first team (or elsewhere), the coach could ask him in a midfield two, or with three in the center of the field, as a starter or more advanced.
“When you have that opportunity, you have to be able to play the role and if you’re just fixed on ‘you’re a holding midfielder’ or ‘you’re an attacking midfielder’ that limits you, that’s the thinking behind what we do.”
If he can continue to impress McCarthy, Patino, Blackpool and Arsenal will all benefit.
(Photo: Isaac Parkin/PA Images via Getty Images)
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