Arsenal starlet Julio Pleguezuelo agrees deadline day loan move to Nastic Tarragona

Arsenal starlet Julio Pleguezuelo will spend the second half of the campaign in the second division of the Spanish football after completing a deadline loan move to Nastic Tarragona.

The 21-year-old centre-back followed in the footsteps of current Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas and Hector Bellerin in the summer of 2013 when he decided to leave the Barcelona academy to move to the Emirates Stadium.

However, the Spanish youngster has since failed to replicate the same luck of his compatriots and is yet to make a single appearance with first-team.

Last season Arsene Wenger already sent him on loan to Mallorca with the hope he could gain some much-needed first-team experience in his homeland.

The former Barcelona defender made 15 appearances in the second tier of Spanish football before returning to Arsenal in the summer.

Pleguezuelo has since made 12 appearances for the Under-23 side, and has captained the side in most of his outings.

But it has not been enough to make the breakthrough into the first-team despite Arsenal's current struggles in defence, with the Gunners having conceded 34 goals in the opening 25 games of the Premier League season.

Pleguezuelo has instead returned to his homeland to continue his development at Nastic.

"Julio José Pleguezuelo Selva (Palma de Mallorca, January 26, 1997) has joined Nàstic on loan from Arsenal until the end of the season," the Spanish club confirmed through an official statement.

"The defender trained with the first-team on Wednesday after receiving the official paperwork from the English club."

The ex-Barca starlet becomes the sixth signing made by Nastic during the current January transfer window following the arrivals of Alvaro Vázquez, Javier Matilla, Javi Márquez, Nicolao Dumitru and Cesar Arzo.

Nastic have been forced to make a major overhaul to their squad this month in a bid to remain in the second division, with the Catalans currently 17<sup>th place of the table, only one point above the relegation zone.

Pleguezuelo's deadline day move to the Spanish outfit is likely to be overshadow by the other major deal involving the Arsenal first-team.

Earlier on Wednesday [31 January] the Gunners confirmed the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund which is expected to spark the departure of Olivier Giroud to Chelsea in the coming hours.