Sitting at the top of the **Premier League**and boasting a flawless record in the league phase of the Champions League, **Arsenal**are full of merriment in this festive phase of the season. However, there is one player in the first team squad whom few could blame for feeling a little low on joy right now.
Ethan Nwaneri is one of the latest darlings of the fanbase produced through the Hale End academy. Starring in stodgier spells at the start of the calendar year, playing opportunities has been infrequent for the 18-year-old, who was absent from the action against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup.
Could one of the star boys on the block at N5 need to temporarily relocate from his home?
A logical retreat to a more junior role?
No one has doubted the talent that Nwaneri brings to the table for the Gunners. When he replaced Fabio Vieira in a 3-0 victory against **Brentford**back in September 2022, he became the youngest player in **Premier League**history as well as the youngest debutant for his club in senior competition.
Only one more league appearance followed in the next 18 months, but that was hardly a surprise. Bukayo Saka simply went from strength to strength as the undisputed right winger for the team, and club captain Martin Odegaard followed a similar trajectory as a two-time Player of the Season.
The story seemed to change only when Mikel Arteta was stuck in a deep hole. Odegaard had picked up an ankle injury in September 2024, and there was no replacement for the Norwegian. A front two of **Kai Havertz**and Leandro Trossard tried to bear the burden of his absence, but eventually the manager accepted that he might need to call on the services of the then 17-year-old more regularly.
A string of substitute outings paved the way to a starting spot once Saka suffered a Grade 3 hamstring tear in December against Crystal Palace. Nwaneri impressed against **Brentford**as a right winger on New Year’s Day 2025, scored against Brighton, and earned the right to remain a part of the lineup.
When Saka returned to action in April, minutes plummeted once more. The teenager had not done enough to receive the faith of Arteta as an alternative to Odegaard, whose displays were subject to scrutiny. So, this is not a new problem for Nwaneri, but it is one that has evolved since the summer.
A crisis of competition
Nwaneri signed a new long-term contract with his boyhood club in August, but by the time the month had ended, it should have been clear that the pathway to the first team was much more competitive.
**Arsenal**agreed to bring back former **Hale End**academy boy Eberechi Eze for a fee of £68 million from Crystal Palace. The talismanic ten sat on the bench against Liverpool, making his debut at **Anfield**off the left wing, where he also played against Nottingham Forest and Athletic Club.
In the meantime, Nwaneri profited. When Eze was paraded to the fans before the fixture against Leeds United, he was the deputy that stood in for Odegaard once the club captain sustained a shoulder injury, and the same tale played out against the Tricky Trees in the middle of September.
Three months have passed, and no starts have come for the teenager in the ten role. Eze has earned the position in the absence of Odegaard, who came back to the camp in November after his knee injury.
If he hoped for playing time as a right winger, those odds have similarly slimmed since the summer. Noni Madueke, signed for £52 million from **Chelsea**in July, offers cover on both flanks. However, his unpredictability and directness have been a welcome sight for supporters as a backup to Saka.
The stakes have risen at **Arsenal**as the squad has deepened. The club have learned lessons from the injury crisis of the 2024/25 season, but their actions are at the cost of time for their talented teenagers.
Myles Lewis-Skelly has suffered a similar fate, especially as Riccardo Calafiori has started to excel. Yet, he has still enjoyed significant Champions League minutes and remains a part of the thinking for the **England**squad under Thomas Tuchel — a pipedream for his fellow academy graduate.
Minutes are currency, so does this development say something about how Arteta sees Nwaneri?
A question of trust?
Since the start of October, Nwaneri has played just three times in the Premier League: 2-0 wins over West Ham and **Burnley**as well as another cameo in the 4-1 rout of **Tottenham**on derby day.
None of those matches came in December when wins have been narrow, and margins have been tight: the same could be said for the cup clash with Palace which ultimately was decided with a shootout.
High stakes moments are often the times when the true preferences of leaders are visible. And there is an aversion to risk that has become synonymous with Arteta. The Gunners have forged their success through solidity, and other options are more likely to deliver the defensive discipline he demands.
Nwaneri is still developing into his game, but he is not a player whose instincts turn to taking the easy option. With an excellent first touch, the teenager is eager to trigger shots quickly when he gets into goalscoring positions around the edge of the box. Even at the risk of running into traffic and losing the ball, he is much more likely to drive with the ball on the half turn than club captain Odegaard.
Those tools can be refined, but the time and place for that process to occur might not be in the middle of a title race. **Man City**are clicking into a higher gear, sitting just two points off the league leaders with a 100% winning record in December and an attack that is synchronising with Erling Haaland.
Their trials and tribulations teach that the team who evolves to make the most of their tools through the campaign can often be best placed for the major honours. However, if one man is to be afforded that rite of passage, then it is more likely to be marquee man Eze than teenaged talent Nwaneri.
With **Max Dowman**waiting in the wings, there is a reminder that today’s stars can be tomorrow’s afterthought in the fickle footballing world. Nwaneri still has many years ahead of him, but he will be wary of letting this time pass him by before building on the mark he has made in the men’s game.