Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has spoken about his surprise decision to promote Ethan Nwaneri to the first-team today as the 15-year-old made his senior debut for the Gunners, becoming the youngest player to ever make an appearance in the Premier League.
Nwaneri is the latest exciting youngster to come through Arsenal’s academy, and it looks like Arteta rates him highly, as he admits to having a special feeling about the player after watching him in training.
See below as Charles Watts of Goal quotes Arteta speaking after today’s 3-0 win away to Brentford, with the Spanish tactician heaping praise on Nwaneri after giving him this big opportunity…
Arteta on Ethan Nwaneri:
"It was a pure gut feeling. I met the boy, I really liked what I saw. He trained with us a couple of times. I had that feeling yesterday that if the opportunity could come, I would do it. He deserves it."
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) September 18, 2022
This is some praise for Nwaneri, with Arteta insisting the youngster deserves his chance to get on the pitch in a senior Premier League match.
Arsenal fans will be excited about what the future holds for the teenager, having also seen the likes of Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah come up through the academy and into the first-team in recent years.
We must continue to give the young gunners a chance in a winning atmosphere . Arteta must also put things in place to keep our stars . To prevent these regular injuries we need to introduce a sound Yoga programme for our players .