Nwaneri racked up 37 appearances for Arsenal last season, scoring nine goals and adding two assists. This campaign, however, he has played 11 times, scoring one goal, and just three of those have been in the starting XI. Despite his lack of minutes, Arteta referenced the fact that he has already played 50 games for the north London outfit.
The Spaniard told reporters on Friday: "Ethan’s attitude on that is exceptional, He wants to train and he wants to be outside and he wants to be in touch with that ball. In that sense, he’s top. In the same manner that other players have to cope with this kind of situation, preparing in the best possible way, I think he’s doing it. His attitude has been excellent and when he’s got the chance to play, prove that I’m wrong, that he needs to play more minutes and help the team as much as possible."
When asked how he has explained the situation to Nwaneri, Arteta replied: "Probably, by looking at where he is. He’s 18 years old [and has] 50 appearances for the club. I want to see how many examples there are in English football with that number at that age. That’s a reality, that’s not if, if, if, that’s a reality. So if somebody were to tell him, any of us, two years ago, that number with the squad that we have, probably we would go, it doesn’t sound very realistic."