Mikel Arteta Tells Ethan Nwaneri What to Do to Land More Minutes After Seizing Man United Chance
Ethan Nwaneri has emerged as one of the most promising talents from the club’s academy in recent seasons, with high expectations surrounding his future.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has urged the young player to continue demonstrating “ambition, determination, and quality” in order to secure more playing time with the Gunners. Nwaneri recently started in their friendly victory over Manchester United.
The 17-year-old showcased his skills during the first half of Arsenal’s 2-1 win in Los Angeles before being substituted for Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand. Arteta is evaluating his squad in preparation for the upcoming Premier League season.
Nwaneri has already made headlines as a record-breaker at Arsenal. He became the youngest player to debut in the Premier League when he came on as a substitute against Brentford during the 2022-23 season, at just 15 years and 181 days old.
Joining Arsenal at the age of nine, Nwaneri has demonstrated exceptional finishing ability in the youth teams, scoring ten goals in Premier League 2 last season.
Arteta expressed satisfaction with Nwaneri’s performance against United and suggested that if he maintains his current level of play, he could earn more opportunities. He also hinted that Nwaneri might be featured in the upcoming match against Liverpool next week.
“It’s always in the hands of the players, so show what you can do. Show that ambition, that determination, that quality and things will happen naturally.
“Tomorrow he’s going to train with us again and if he continues to play like that he’s going to play some minutes on Wednesday for sure.”
Nwaneri gave a lot of energy for Arsenal in the first half and capped his performance with an assist to Jesus, setting him up for an easy goal to level the match.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old defender Ayden Heaven also drew attention with a commendable defensive display.
Despite a mistake that allowed Rasmus Hojlund to score the first goal, Heaven received praise from Arteta for his overall performance.
“At 17, I don’t know how many players are able to do that on a stage like this. He’s lost a duel against one of the strongest and fastest players in the world, it can happen,” he said
“But the reaction afterwards, the composure, the quality, the body language that he had were all remarkable. I’m really happy with him.”
Gabriel Martinelli scored the decisive goal for Arsenal, who will now prepare for upcoming friendlies against Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen, and Lyon before their Premier League season starts at home against Wolves on August 17.
In other Arsenal news, 100% Dribbles: Arteta Can Forget Nico Williams After Arsenal Star’s Performance v Man United – Opinion
