Not only is Mikel Arteta building the Arsenal first-team into a title-worthy outfit for today, he is also future-proofing the squad for the years to come.
The manager has utilised the club’s academy strength during his tenure, as seen with Bukayo Saka and formerly Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe. And now, he is waving through the next generation of talent.
This cannot be better exemplified by the starting of 16-year-old goalkeeper Jack Porter in Wednesday’s 5-1 League Cup win against Bolton Wanderers. There is perhaps a greater buzz around Ethan Nwaneri given the coverage he has been afforded.
The attacking midfielder made history by becoming the club’s youngest-ever debutant aged 15 years and 181 days when used as a substitute against Brentford two years ago. He has had to bide his patience to stake a prolonged spell in the first-team set-up but it seems his time has arrived.
Now 17, Nwaneri has played three senior games so far this season and got on the scoresheet twice in the midweek win over Bolton. Having made a brief cameo in the win over Tottenham earlier this month, the talent made his second Premier League appearance in Saturday’s 4-2 win over Leicester City.
His manager - who substituted him on with the score at 2-2 - believes he made an instant impact and was impressed. Arsenal boss Arteta praised: “I brought on Ethan and the guy, at 17-years-old, his first action is to go past two, three people and take a shot.
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“I just love it. If you want to be here and play at that level, you need to have that courage. I really value that from the team today.”
More opportunities are bound to fall the youngster’s way in the coming months and season having made every matchday squad this campaign. For those who have tracked him for a long time, his breakthrough will come as little surprise.
The teenager scored 18 goals in 20 academy matches last season, having hit five past Crewe Alexandra's Under-18s in the FA Youth Cup a year ago. He went on to net three goals in four games at the Under-17 European Championships in May.
Nwaneri is making great strides in his progress and can take inspiration from Saka and Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo, who started the final of Euro 2024 just 18 months after making his senior debut.
A lot can happen in a short space of time in the right environment and Arteta is sustaining just that at the Emirates Stadium. The fact he singled Nwaneri out for praise speaks to how highly he thinks of him and hints at what plans he might have for the academy graduate in the near future, at least.
