Ethan Nwaneri | 17 year old starting for Arsenal in EFL Cup

This kid is a Foden/Saka level talent.

We have struck gold in the Hale End again. So soon after Saka broke through too.
 
WeePat said:
It's definitely a delicate balancing act, but I think Arteta erred too much on the side of caution. Nwaneri would most likely come out the side and return to his backup role when Odegaard is back anyway, so managing his minutes and exposure would come naturally via Odegaard's return imo. I think it's disappointing that his only starts have come in the cup vs lower league opposition.

You're right that there isn't really a set way to integrate youth players, each situation/circumstance is different, and it could eventually turn out that Arteta had a perfectly valid reason to slowly drip feed him minutes, despite injuries to other players. On the surface though, it does feel like he's holding him back because he wants to rely on the experienced heads to grind out results.
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Would definitely agree...he is a cautious manager, and he will go with what he knows. I don't think Trossard can fill in for Odegaard in general. Just too different, and some of his decisions have caused problems. It's not Trossard's fault...it's just not him. Ethan should have played a bit more during this period. Not every game, but more than he did. Kid will need to get some more minutes soon. There is a quiet air of confidence about the lad that I really like.
 
There's other factors that come in here, including how they are in training, their stamina levels to last 60-70 very tough minutes in the PL or CL. Agree that Arteta errs on the side of caution to his detriment on these things sometimes, but he's also given a clear roadmap to a lot of young players already, and not signed academy players everyone considered the next big thing, and who turned out to be underwhelming. Even Odegaard at 17-18 was flitting around, honing his talent before breaking out at 20.

That said, I do want to see a bit more of the kid to see if he's ready to hit the big stage by next season or the season after.
 
Changeisgood said:
Would definitely agree...he is a cautious manager, and he will go with what he knows. I don't think Trossard can fill in for Odegaard in general. Just too different, and some of his decisions have caused problems. It's not Trossard's fault...it's just not him. Ethan should have played a bit more during this period. Not every game, but more than he did. Kid will need to get some more minutes soon. There is a quiet air of confidence about the lad that I really like.
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It’s not too late. Odegaard is still out and this Newcastle game is crying out for Nwaneri.
 
There's a lot more tactical work that needs to be done other than simply putting a child in place of Odegaard. This is not Barcelona.
He's good but nowhere near the solution to our PL issues, it's clueless to think otherwise. This group of players have enough to beat a struggling Newcastle team, they just look stuck in autopilot, playing the same way. Not enough adjustments and too many players off form.
 
awop said:
There's a lot more tactical work that needs to be done other than simply putting a child in place of Odegaard. This is not Barcelona.
He's good but nowhere near the solution to our PL issues, it's clueless to think otherwise. This group of players have enough to beat a struggling Newcastle team, they just look stuck in autopilot, playing the same way. Not enough adjustments and too many players off form.
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I agree. That’s why we should have introduced him in games as soon as Odegaard went down. We shouldn’t be asking a kid to save us in the last half an hour a game at St James’ Park with barely any minutes played.
 
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