Omar Rekik hadn’t played in the FA Cup before this season but the Arsenal loanee has enjoyed his start to life in the famous competition.
Rekik is currently on loan at Wigan Athletic and came on as an early substitute in their 2-0 victory away to Exeter City in the first round.
This weekend Wigan were involved in the second round and Rekik helped them to prevail in a 1-0 win over York City as he set up the only goal of the game for Stephen Humphrys.
The third round draw this afternoon provided Wigan with a home tie against Manchester United, which is undoubtedly a very exciting fixture for the Latics.
Rekik’s loan spell is due to come to an end at the start of January but given how well he has done so far it wouldn’t be a major surprise if his temporary deal was to be extended for the rest of the campaign.
The opportunity to play against United would be a fantastic one and would represent another milestone in the development of Rekik, who is mainly a centre-back but has also been used in both full-back positions at times this season.
A player who has been capped on three occasions by Tunisia at senior level, Rekik is in his second loan spell at Wigan having also had a stint with the club last season.
That followed on from a hugely frustrating loan spell at Sparta Rotterdam where he barely played, and Rekik is now relishing getting the chance to test himself in senior football on a regular basis.
Rekik will turn 22 later this month and his future at Arsenal is unclear, but at the moment he is enjoying his time at Wigan and in particular the club’s progress in the FA Cup.
—
Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
Not relishing ours.
Hopefully he will rekik Manure’s cup run
Arsenal’s current first team CB age range poses a huge challenge for a 22 year old still out on loan to a League one club. That is what makes Rekik’s future unclear.
Would be amazing for him (and us) if he could help Wigan get a result v ManU. ManU were a shambles against Newc at the weekend.