- Ethan Nwaneri made his first Premier League start for Arsenal at Brentford
- Mikel Arteta praised the 17-year-old Hale End academy product
- LISTEN NOW: It’s all starting! New line-up, some new faces, but optimism has faded at Old Trafford
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta toasted Ethan Nwaneri after the 17-year-old replaced the injured Bukayo Saka against Brentford.
The talented teenager made his full Premier League debut in the 3-1 win at the Gtech Community Stadium on Wednesday night.
He didn’t look out of place either, as he was confident on the ball and his corner led to Arsenal’s second goal through Mikel Merino.
With Saka out until at least March following hamstring surgery, there has been speculation that the Gunners could turn to the transfer market for a right winger to sustain their Premier League title.
But Arteta was completely satisfied with his academy graduate’s performance.
“He (played) very well,” Arteta told Sky Sports. In training he gave us all the right reasons.
Mikel Arteta praised Ethan Nwaneri after the youngster made his Arsenal debut
Nwaneri, 17, put in a brave performance against Brentford, with Bukayo Saka injured.
Arteta said Nwaneri played “really well” and said he would feature even if they signed someone else on the right.
‘We could sign a player from any country (but) he would be playing. “He is a youth player and he needs to play because he deserves it.”
He later added: “Part of that development is patience, managing frustration, managing expectations because you expect everything to go as fast as previous things happen and that’s not the case.”
“So now we are building him, he has already played a lot of games, a lot of minutes for us, the age he is and he fully deserves it.”
Nwaneri has become a fixture for Arsenal this season but, until Wednesday night, had to make do with appearances from the bench.
Brentford has fond memories for Nwaneri, who came off the Gtech bench in September 2022 to become the youngest player in the Premier League at 15 years and 181 days.
Last season, Arsenal only gave him another chance to shine, but this campaign he has bounced back and is proving to be another gem from Hale End’s academy.
He has shown his goalscoring potential in the Carabao Cup, scoring twice against Bolton in the third round and scoring a stunner in the top corner in the next round at Preston.
Sky Sports pundit Karen Carney was effusive in his praise of Nwaneri after watching him shine against Thomas Frank’s side.
Nwaneri is earning minutes regularly this season and scored twice against Preston in October.
“He’s brave, he’s bold, for someone so young, he staggers and drops a shoulder.” “Go and do what you want, be brave, be positive, face people,” he said.
‘He was key in the corner. “For a young man, he was extraordinary, positive, it was a pleasure to see him and I can’t believe how young he is.”
