Rating every Arsenal loan player in the 2024/25 season, including £34,000,000 transfer flop and the ‘next Neymar’

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Arsenal had numerous players on loan at various clubs across the world this season, fighting for their futures at the Emirates or elsewhere.

Mikel Arteta allowed a number of players to depart N5 on a temporary basis at the beginning of the campaign.

The Spaniard was eager to give youngsters the opportunity to develop where they could play regular minutes, or to give fringe players the opportunity to play minutes to help maintain their value.

While some flourished at their adopted clubs, others struggled to establish themselves on loan and will probably be in the permanent departure lounge this summer.

With that said, here is how every Arsenal loan player rated in the 2024/25 season.

• READ MORE: Rating every player Arsenal signed in the 2024/25 season, including £42,000,000 signing and clear transfer flop

Karl Hein (Real Valladolid) – 7/10

Impressive in pre-season last summer for the Gunners, goalkeeper Karl Hein left for Spanish side Real Valladolid on loan in the summer.

Certainly kept busy for the La Liga outfit as they finished rock bottom of the Spanish top flight, the Estonian made over three saves per 90 minutes.

Hein conceded a hat-trick to Kylian Mbappe in January, but this and his team’s general fortunes weren’t reflective of his performances.

The shot-stopper finished the season having kept five clean sheets, despite Valladolid’s troubles, and returns to North London with a higher stock than when he left.

Nuno Tavares (Lazio) – 7/10

Struggling at both Arsenal and on loan at Nottingham Forest, Nuno Tavares’ standout physical attributes seem better suited to playing abroad.

Tavares enjoyed an exceptional opening six months at Lazio, registering eight assists in his first 16 starts for the Serie A outfit.

However, his form did fade over the back half of the campaign, although this was largely a result of persistent injury issues, struggling with recurring muscular problems.

These fitness issues don’t seem to have been enough to put Lazio off activating their buy option on the left-back, as Arsenal are set to receive £7.5million for Tavares.

Albert Sambi Lokonga (Sevilla) – 5/10

Similarly to his loan spell at Luton in the 2023/24 campaign, Albert Sambi Lokonga produced a number of adept performances when he did play, but he simply didn’t play enough.

Injuries derailed his stint in La Liga, starting just 16 league games for Sevilla all season.

Typically progressive with his passing and astute defensively, Lokonga didn’t impress Los Hispalenses enough for them to trigger the €12 buy option that was included in the loan deal.

He’ll now return to Arsenal once again, with the Gunners surely looking to find a way to move him on permanently this summer.

Fabio Vieira (Porto) – 6/10

It took Fabio Vieira a while to get going at Porto, but once he broke into the Portuguese giants’ side, he became a mainstay.

Vieira impressed with some of his masterful playmaking performances in the Primeira Liga, although he ultimately finished the campaign having made just 21 league starts.

Scoring four goals and providing four assists, Arsenal would’ve hoped for a lot more than that from the 24-year-old, who they paid £34million for back in 2022.

Ultimately playing in a league that is not close to matching the quality of the Premier League, Vieira would’ve had to put up spectacular numbers for him to stand any chance of finding his way back into the Arsenal side next season.

Reiss Nelson (Fulham) – 3/10

Reiss Nelson endured an agonising loan spell in West London for Fulham.

Starting brightly at Craven Cottage, Marco Silva began using him frequently alongside Emile Smith Rowe and Alex Iwobi after an initial period on the bench.

However, Nelson then sustained a serious hamstring injury in December, and he hasn’t set foot on a football pitch since.

Having finished the campaign with just five Premier League starts, it’s not clear where the Hale End graduate goes from here with his career.

Marquinhos (Cruzeiro) – 2/10

Marquinhos joined Brazilian side Cruzeiro in January, in what was his fourth loan spell away from Arsenal in the last two years.

After failing to make an impact at Norwich City, Nantes and Fluminense, there was hope that he could revive his flailing career in this latest temporary move.

However, he’s made just one Serie A start in the last five months, contributing to no goals.

Marquinhos was once described as ‘the next Neymar’ (via OneFootball), but he certainly hasn’t shown any signs that he can develop into a player remotely close to the former Paris Saint-Germain talisman.