Unlikely Loans
One player on the list I think we can certainly rule out straight away coming on loan to Lincoln is Tim Akinola. Some might say it would be a good fit because we know Tim and he knows us having originally been in our Academy before moving onto Huddersfield and then onto Arsenal. If Arsenal really are looking for clubs where their youngsters will get a good proportion of game time, we might not be able to offer that. Our midfield is likely to be Liam Bridcutt, Jorge Grant and Connor McGrandles with James Jones, Tayo Edun, and Max Sanders vying for those spots too. Michael is also likely to add another Brennan Johnson type player who can drop back and play as an attacking midfielder as well as one of the front three.
For the same reason, I think we can rule out Ben Cottrell a 19 years old left-sided midfielder who is unlikely to see much game time if he were to come on loan here.
Another one that we can rule out is the 21-year-old centre back Dan Ballard who Arsenal have already said will step up and experience Championship football next season, having already spent a season in League One last time out. If the name is familiar it’s because he played 38 games for Blackpool including the full game against us in the Play-Off Final at Wembley. Obviously, now that Blackpool are a Championship side the general feeling is that Arsenal may let him return to Blackpool under the guidance of Neil Critchley who gave him plenty of game time last season.