Not unexpectedly, Mikel Arteta was asked a clutch of questions about Ethan Nwaneri at his press conference this morning.
The 17 year old shone in midweek as Arsenal beat Preston 3-0 in the Carabao Cup, and Nwaneri gabbed his third goal of the season with a superb first half strike into the top corner.
Quizzed on his future and the potential he has, the Arsenal manager said, “Well, I can talk how good he is right now, and at 17 years old to be in the position that he is in one of the biggest clubs in Europe, I think sums up really well the level that he has.
“What is going to happen in the future mainly is going to depend on him and how much he wants it.
“At the moment he wants it a lot and he’s surrounded by the right people and the crystal ball to see where he’s going to be in a year, two years, three years, my prediction is going to be very positive.”
Inevitably there were comparisons with other young players who have made the breakthrough at such an early age.
“It’s rare to see a talent like this at 17 years old, that’s true. When we gave him his debut in the Premier League there was a lot of talk about it, but we didn’t do it because it was a gift.
“We did it because we knew the pathway that we wanted to build with him and we wanted to send him a really strong sign about how much we trust him and how much we wanted him to stay with us.
“We are delighted to have him. He really believes that he’s more than capable to take anybody’s place, and his teammates, you know?
“He’s earned the right of the trust of them, which I think is vital for a teenager coming through.”
Fans have been clamouring to see more of him, for understandable reasons, but at 17 there’s are still some issues in terms of fitness and full physical maturity. Nwaneri was taken off against Preston on Wednesday as he was suffering from cramps, leading Arteta to remind people there is a big gap between youth level and the demands in the top flight.
“It’s a huge jump, you know,” he said. “We need to understand where he’s coming from, if he had any issues in the last three, five years.
“In his growth, in his development, and the physical part and the mental part, not just the tactical, are really important to take care of, because the load goes through the roof straightaway.”
With a tough trip to Newcastle tomorrow, one we’ll undertake without captain Martin Odegaard, there might be a chance for Nwaneri to shine at Premier League level, and you wouldn’t bet against him to do that if the opportunity arises.
Play him, then
I guess you didn’t read the last part?
Fabregas played for Spain and was given the last PK at a time he was a little older than Ethan is now. I think Ethan will play in WC 2026 if Arteta plays him enough.
He does play him. That’s how you know who he is.
Agree, it’s great to see our academy player with top potential making his way to the squad at such a young age but let’s leave it to Miki and his coaches to do what they do best for him in the interests of his career and our club, granted tho, he looks like a brilliant prospect..
The way he’s playing at 17 you might day the kid has a pair of crystal balls between his legs!
*pause for laughs*
No? OK how bout this one – I don’t care so much what he does in the crystal ball… as what he does vs Crystal Palace!
Still no? Darn.
He’s a 17yr old kid, man.
huh?
uff bad vibes here today…
You condemned yourself brother
Did I? Clowning around making self deprecating dad jokes and grabbing your coat has historically been well tolerated here, unusually tough crowd today. But I get it, it’s November, the leaves are brown, and the sky is gloomy and gray…
You must be an 80s kid. I do relate though.
How did you know? I am, just barely. And still no idea what you’re talking about.
Gen X style comments
Fascinating. What gave him away? Right there with Ebo btw, child of the early 80s here.
Unabashed attempts at saucy humor combined with expressions of self-awareness/self-deprecation.
Could be complete b*ollocks of course.
As an elder X I think I’m a bit drier like boomers but that might be b*ollocks too.
Everyone’s different anyway.
Probably not *complete* bollocks, there’s always exceptions to the rule for every categorisation, and yet people have been categorising and labeling each other since the dawn of primate astrology. Guess it was necessary to survive to find some sort of logic that helps you spot the shitty people that will steal the zebra cadaver you spent all day hunting. These days it’s much simpler to tell who the crappy people are because they openly root for Spurs or Chelsea or City.
Lol
People who were born in the 80s are millenials. But I guess you mean the long form laborious commenting, fair enough I guess that’s the giveaway for being borderline gen x. People who grew up with message boards and came of age with long form blogs vs those who did with Instagram and Tik Tok and short attention spans. Tbh i’m kind of OK not fitting in with the kids on that front.
And still no idea what that has to do with condemning myself 🤷
Well I meant grew up in the 80s as a cultural influence but I guess I could be off with my algorithm.
The “condemned yourself” comment was separate to that and just a bit of deadpan humor.
No offence mate!
Mystic Mik
I would absolutely start him in place of Trossard. He is already better than Trossard defensively. Trossard is so impactful coming off bench and so uninspiring when he starts. My guess is Trossard will start.
His explanation about the history of the young player and the “load going through the roof” should be instructive to everyone who wants to have him starting every week.
If you recall Messi, at 17 he was already the most talented player at Barcelona, but he wasn’t played regularly for another 2 years.
Arteta knows what he is doing with these kids.
Exactly. Let the pros work.
Trossard being way more impactful coming off the bench is a myth.
Goal contributions (goal & assists) per 90 since arrival:
as a starter: 0.85
as a sub: 0.75
Supporters remember moments and performances, not data, and his sub appearances have been far more memorable. We remember him going thorough Elliot’s legs, taking it up the touchline and scoring through Allison at his near post. We remember him arrowing a snapshot into the top corner to give us a win at Everton. Or his far post finish to snatch a draw at Chelsea last season. I can’t be bothered to look it up but I think those were all sub appearances. I think his impact is greater off the bench because we’ve tended to bring him on in late… Read more »
About on. I much prefer letting my eyes inform me. Denilson has the most passes in the world 😂😂
There’s a place for metrics and I’m a big fan of a lot of them in a lot of contexts but you have to view it as a single piece of data and be vigilant for where it could lead you wrong.
Hi Yen. What if you compare that to the actual minutes played in both category (starter vs sub)? Would the picture change or are those stats youblentioned per “real 90 min played”?
*you mentioned
Did you take into account 10 mn of warming as a sub? lol
His future would be much more positive if mikel started playing him more. If he is ode’s replacement, play him when ode is not playing, or at least bring him on for trossard if trossard starts in ode’s absence. Stop the 3 DM bullshit. It’s getting us nowhere.