Ethan Nwaneri is one of Arsenal and England’s most exciting young talents.
The teenager made history in 2022 by becoming the youngest player to make an appearance in the Premier League.
However, it was in the 2024/25 campaign that he made his breakthrough, and he impressed everyone with his performances.
Nwaneri is widely viewed as the future of Arsenal, but what Mikel Arteta is trying to do now could upset the young Englishman.
Eberechi Eze joining Arsenal could be bad news for Ethan Nwaneri
Arsenal are interested in signing Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace.
The England international is on the radar of several big clubs, but Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Eze is open to a move to Arsenal.
Many fans feel that the Eagles star would be coming in to bolster their left wing, but The Athletic have claimed that the Gunners’ interest in him is ‘separate to their pursuit of a striker and left winger’.
That suggests Arteta views Eze as an attacking midfielder, which means he would compete with Martin Odegaard for that role.
Arsenal will definitely become stronger with Eze, but Ethan Nwaneri’s game time will take a hit if the 27-year-old arrives.
The youngster is naturally an attacking midfielder. Having Odegaard in front of him makes it hard enough to get minutes, and Eze’s arrival would make it even worse.
We think Nwaneri would be upset if this deal goes through and his chances of playing regularly decrease.
Ethan Nwaneri walking onto the pitch before an Arsenal game
Photo by Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Ethan Nwaneri will have to accept one thing if Eberechi Eze joins Arsenal
Nwaneri is definitely behind Odegaard in the pecking order in the number 10 role, and that is unlikely to change next season.
If Eberechi Eze comes in too, the teenager’s best chance of game time will be on the right wing, as a backup to Bukayo Saka.
Nwaneri may have to accept that his immediate future is on the right flank, even though he has publicly stated that his preferred position is as a number 10 (Chris Wheatley).
This is not a great position for the club to be in, especially as Arsenal are struggling to tie Nwaneri down to a new contract at the Emirates.