LEICESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 15: Ethan Nwaneri of Arsenal during the Premier League match between ... [+] Leicester City FC and Arsenal FC at The King Power Stadium on February 15, 2025 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesWhen Arsenal needed someone to step up, Mikel Merino obliged. Brought off the bench with the Gunners drawing 0-0 away to Leicester City, the Euro 2024 winner scored twice to secure a 2-0 victory and keep his team’s chances of winning the Premier League title arrive. His impact was a profound one.
For the most part, though, Ethan Nwaneri was the player who pushed Arsenal forward at the King Power Stadium. With Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus all ruled out through injury, it was up to the 17-year-old to provide a spark in the attacking third. He succeeded in offering this.
LONDON COLNEY, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 30: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta speaks to Ethan Nwaneri during ... [+] the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD2 training and press conference at Sobha Realty Training Centre on September 30, 2024 in London Colney, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal FC via Getty ImagesArsenal needs more out of Nwaneri quickly if it is to catch Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table. An injury crisis has hit the club’s attacking ranks and so the 17-year-old has been fast-tracked into the first team when Mikel Arteta surely would have preferred to slowly integrate him.
“The biggest thing is to push him and then when he is pushing you grab him from behind to make sure he is stable and protected. This talent you have to push him,” said Arteta about Nwaneri. “Protection is necessary, keeping an eye on him, but he needs to see that he can go and fly and not cut his wings.
“I can talk about how good he is right now and the position he is at, at one of the biggest clubs in Europe, sums up really well the level he has. What happens in the future is going to depend on him and how much he wants it. At the moment he wants it a lot and he is surrounded by the right people.”
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 02: Myles Lewis-Skelly of Arsenal poses for a photograph with Ethan ... [+] Nwaneri in the Arsenal dressing room as they celebrate after the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Manchester City FC at Emirates Stadium on February 02, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal FC via Getty ImagesIndeed, Nwaneri appears to be in the right place for his development. Arsenal has earned a reputation for being a hotbed of young talent with Saka homegrown and Myles Lewis-Skelly the latest to come through the club’s youth system. Nwaneri has the potential to be another generational talent.
On the ball, Nwaneri is a threat going in both directions. He can dribble, he can play a pass and he has already demonstrated that he has an eye for goal, finding the back of the net in recent matches against Girona and Manchester City. It might be unreasonable for Arsenal to ask someone so young to keep their title chances alive, but not every youngster is as talented as this one.
