Westley hoping young Gunner will add a new dimension to his team

STEVENAGE have signed Arsenal attacker Luke Freeman on loan until January 8 with a view to an extension.

The 19-year-old featured for the Gunners in their trip to the Lamex Stadium during pre-season, and spent some of last season on loan at League 1 side Yeovil Town.

He trained with his new team-mates today (Thursday), and will be available for selection for the match against Leyton Orient on Saturday.

Manager Graham Westley said he had been on the lookout for a player in recent weeks who can improve the team’s attacking threat.

“I’ve been trying to enhance our options going forward,” said Westley.

“Our defensive record was the best in the Conference, it was the best in League 2 and we have the fourth best in League 1 – and we’re improving in that regard with some clean sheets in recent weeks – but we also want to start scoring more goals and being more creative.

“I want to keep improving the team and I believe in strengthening while you’re winning. If you can keep getting better it keeps everyone on their toes if the manager improves the squad and lets people know we’re not in the mood to get complacent.”

Westley also said Freeman’s introduction doesn’t necessarily mean someone else will be going through the Boro exit door any time soon.

He added: “You’ve always got to manage the finances and we’re in a position here where we’ve got one of the smallest budgets in the league, so we can’t be flamboyant in what we do.

“But there’s no rush to get somebody out because we’ve got a little bit of slack that I’ve left in the budget for this exact scenario. I knew I might need to add one or two bits along the road.”