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Morning all.
The thought of Ethan Nwaneri rejecting his boyhood club is something I’m trying not to think about. But it’s there, niggling away at the back of my mind. Born and bed in North London, Nwaneri joined the Arsenal Academy at 8 years old. His Premier League debut against Brentford on 18 September 2022, becoming the youngest player to appear in the top flight of English football, at 15 years and 181 days old. I think it’s fair to suggest that along with Myles Lewis-Skelly, he’s the best player to have come through the academy since Bukayo Saka.
Chelsea have been sniffing around him according to the media and you can bet your bottom dollar that every other top club in Europe are watching how his contract talks go too. We cannot stop speculation about his current situation but boy, I just hope that when he returns from his holiday, one of the first thing the club does is announce he’s signed of a new long term contract.
Footballers at 18 years old expect to be playing first team football I’m sure but Nwaneri isn’t your average 18 years old footballer is he? He plays beyond his years, he’s a special talent and he has a left foot not too dissimilar to Bukayo Saka. A bold statement to make but in a few years time, there’s a chance he could be better than Saka.
Mikel Arteta said he thinks Nwaneri is a number 9 in the making so it’s possible that whilst expectation is that Eze or Madueke might jeopardise his Arsenal career, perhaps it’s Jesus who needs to be worrying. Very little has been said or written about our Brazilian, unlike our younger Brazilian winger. Might it actually be Jesus who ends up moving to a Saudi club to raise funds? It makes sense to me that’s for sure. I know he’s currently recovering from injury but he must be very close to being recovered by now. With roughly 7 weeks to go before the transfer window closes, there’s a chance he will be fit enough for a club to sign him.
Whilst I don’t think any player should be guaranteed first team football by a manager, I do believe in a clean slate come the beginning of a new season. Players need to be picked on merit rather than reputation and nothing will convince me that Jesus, or Trossard for that matter is a better option than Nwaneri. There were many occasions last season when I’d have much rather have seen Nwaneri on the pitch than Odegaard because the latter was far from being at his best. I know a general opinion seemed to be he was missing Saka and White, but that’s tough, he’s our captain, he should be able to adjust his game regardless of who is around him.
The biggest change we need to see this coming season is in my opinion, comes from Mikel Arteta. He can have as many players as he likes but if he doesn’t rotate from the start of the season, we are unlikely to be better off in February/March than we were last season or the seasons before. His seemingly lack of trust in all his players is something which annoys me no end. Actually, it’s one of a number of things but I’ll keep the other to myself. Powder dry and all that.
Last season, by the time we faced PSG in the Champions League semi-final, our squad was broken and those who were fit were running on empty. Could that have been avoided? Probably. There comes a time when the excuses of not rotating have to end because this squad is Arteta’s and it has been for a couple of years. If he doesn’t use it better this season then what’s the point in him staying and continually flogging our players to the point of exhaustion and cheesing off those who don’t play in the process?
Catch up in the comments….