When Arsenal signed 19-year-old Brazilian international Gio Queiroz this summer, they landed one of the most sought after teenage talents in the game.
Gio was immediately loaned to fellow WSL side Everton. The player is on the fringes of the Brazil starting line-up and clearly minutes ahead of the World Cup were a priority for a player who was unlikely to immediately break into the Arsenal side ahead of Beth Mead.
Arseblog News asked boss Jonas Eidevall whether the player’s immediate international ambitions played a part in the decision to loan her out for a season.
“It was more about the long-term vision I have for Gio as well.” the Swede explained. “She is a young player but she is used to playing a lot of first-team football. She played a lot in Spain.
“I didn’t want her to take a step back from the stage she is at in her career right now in not playing regular minutes.
“We wanted her to do that at as high a level as possible and to get accustomed to living in England and playing in the league. Everton was a very good fit.
“The minutes I have seen her play she has been excellent, which is really great. Then we have to evaluate week-by-week and take a decision in the winter, if that’s the right time, to take her back or if it’s better for her to stay the whole season.
“But it is still very early so let’s give it some more time.”
The press from @gio9queiroz 👊
The skill from @jesspark21300 ⚡️
The finish from Hanna Bennison 🌟#BarclaysWSL @EvertonWomen pic.twitter.com/CoCze0R3nI— Barclays Women's Super League (@BarclaysWSL) September 29, 2022
In light of defensive injuries, that leave the Gunners down to only two fit recognised centre-halves, Jonas was also asked whether Anna Patten’s loan to Aston Villa has a recall clause in it.
“I think there is no recall until the winter window, that is normal in the WSL I think that you can’t move players around outside of the transfer windows.”
Eidevall also emphasised that injured players still have a big part to play in the squad, even when not playing. Leah Williamson and Rafaelle are set for “several weeks” on the sidelines but Jonas was keen to play up their continuing importance.
“Everyone always has a role to play, the external people might only see the players on the pitch but the way that we prepare for a game, every player has a role to play in the environment we have and the meetings.
“That part is so important and when I speak about putting the team first, the games are the least amount of minutes we do together in a week. So the injured players, like Leah, Rafa and Teyah Goldie, they all have a role to play in the group in order to be supportive and stay together. We go through this whole block as a group.”
COYGG
Interesting, considering how strong we are in attacking positions, that there is a possibility of bringing Queiroz back in January. Perhaps it depends on the Viv situation.