Concern for Arsenal loanee despite Saturday appearance in win | OneFootball

Arsenal loanee Charles Sagoe Jr. was on the winning side with Shrewsbury Town on Saturday, but he has some reason to be concerned with his loan spell so far.

Charles Sagoe Jr. (L) with Shrewsbury Town (Photo via Shrewsbury on Instagram)

Saturday was a positive one for Shrewsbury Town, and there was some encouragement for Arsenal loanee Charles Sagoe Jr. as well.

The League One club had travelled away to Crawley Town for a 15:00 kick-off, and the hosts were 2-1 up when Sagoe Jr. was introduced.

Yet things quickly turned around. Crawley were down to 10 men, and Shrewsbury scored an equaliser just one minute after Sagoe Jr.’s introduction.

The team then added a third, fourth, and fifth goal in the following 20 minutes, before conceding a late consolation for a final score of 5-3.

Charles Sagoe Jr. after signing for Shrewsbury Town (Photo via Sagoe Jr. on Instagram)

On the surface, Sagoe Jr.’s appearance married with Shrewsbury’s comeback win seems positive. But the forward does have some reason to be concerned with how things are going on loan.

For a start, Saturday was the Arsenal loanee’s 10th appearance for Shrewsbury, and his 13th appearance in the senior game – having also played twice for Swansea City and once for Arsenal. Yet he’s still waiting for his first goal or assist.

Sagoe Jr. wasn’t having trouble in front of goal before stepping up to senior football, with nine goal contributions in his previous 11 games for the Arsenal u21s. But he can’t seem to get going in the first-team game.

651 minutes is still a relatively short time to have been involved in senior football. But it’s always harder to hold down a spot as a forward if you aren’t scoring or assisting.

Charles Sagoe Jr involved in first-team training with Arsenal (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

On that note, it’s worth highlighting that Sagoe Jr. hasn’t been starting league matches lately. Following a run of three starts in September, the 20-year-old has kicked off October with three games on the bench, coming on as a late substitute twice.

The winger did make a start in midweek in a dire 4-0 defeat to Birmingham City, but that was in the EFL Trophy. The lower-league clubs are notorious for rotating in the competition.

When the league fixtures returned at the weekend, Sagoe Jr. dropped back to the bench.

Charles Sagoe Jr. playing for Swansea City against Plymouth Argyle (Photo via SwanseaCity.com)

There’s plenty of time left to go in the season, but you worry that a player not scoring or assisting and increasingly being left out of the starting lineup will only find it harder to get back into the team later on.

After that disappointing loan to Swansea earlier this year (in which he dropped out of the squad entirely for the final three months of the season), Sagoe Jr. will want to ensure things pick up with Shrewsbury.