Arsenal Star Hails “Unbelievable” Nwaneri After Sparkling Brentford Display

By The Editor
on 2nd January 2025

Merino is a Nwaneri fan…

Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino has hailed teenager Ethan Nwaneri after he put in a sparkling performance in his first Premier League start, SuperSport reports.

Nwaneri was handed his first start at the same venue he made his Premier League debut at just 15, as Mikel Arteta continues to search for a solution to Bukayo Saka’s injury.

The 17-year-old is left-footed and can burst with the ball at his feet. His performance at the Gtech Stadium looked more natural than Gabriel Martinelli’s effort against Ipswich.

Two of the three goals were as a result of Nwaneri’s crosses and the Hale End star was able to pin his full-back while providing natural width on the right wing.

Merino is not surprised by how seamlessly the academy graduates are taking to senior football due to the impact they make in the training sessions.

“He is an unbelievable player and also a really nice guy, really shy,” Merino said when asked about Nwaneri’s full Premier League debut.

“He’s always keen to learn and try to listen to the more experienced players, the coach. Whatever can make him a better player, he’s always looking for.

“But it’s not only him, all the young kids who are training with us, maybe not playing, but in the training sessions you can see that the academy is a big thing in this club also.

“They are such good players at such a young age that it is scary sometimes,” the Spaniard added.

Nwaneri has been gradually introduced into the first team by Arteta this season and while fans have been clamouring to see him more, the minutes he’s accumulated are remarkable.

The England youth international doesn’t turn 18 until March and has already dwarfed the minutes played by Bukayo Saka before their 18th birthday.

Arteta withdrew Nwaneri at half-time in the Carabao Cup tie against Crystal Palace last month and he seemed further away from a Premier League start at the time.

Having said that, it is safer for the starlet’s development to play him out wide and allow him to cut in on his left foot and be able to see the entire picture.

It will be interesting to see if he’s handed another start against Brighton with the game coming just 72 hours after our last outing and Arteta intent on using his squad.