As Arsenal dispatched of Aston Villa in hugely impressive fashion last night, Ethan Nwaneri could have been forgiven for feeling mixed emotions.
The 18-year-old found himself left out of the squad for the game against Villa – the second time that such a scenario has occurred in the Premier League this season.
Nwaneri’s omission came despite the fact that three senior players were absent in Declan Rice, Cristhian Mosquera and Riccardo Calafiori, which indicates that the midfielder is unlikely to get much playing time if he remains at Arsenal in the second half of the season.
There is little doubt about Nwaneri’s ability and he has shown glimpses of what he is capable of this season, including a goal against Brighton in the Carabao Cup.
With his flair and directness, Nwaneri is a very exciting player to watch and it is worth stating that he has already made 50 senior appearances for Arsenal, which is an impressive achievement for an academy graduate.
This season, however, the dynamic has shifted somewhat. In the second half of last season Nwaneri was considered as an option on the right wing but that no longer seems to be the case, especially following the signing of Noni Madueke.
In addition, the arrival of Eberechi Eze pushed Nwaneri further down the pecking order in midfield and Eze himself has also struggled for regular minutes of late.
We are now halfway through the Premier League season and Nwaneri has yet to start in the competition this campaign, while he also didn’t enter the fray in the recent Carabao Cup tie against Crystal Palace.
It has been understandable at times why he has not been considered and there are certainly aspects of his game which Nwaneri needs to develop, including his work off the ball.
However, it is unlikely that he will be able to improve much in that regard without playing regularly, which indicates that a loan move would be the best option.
There have already been tentative murmurings of a Premier League loan switch and with the transfer window set to open such a move could help to accelerate Nwaneri’s development.
If a suitable move was found then the England U21 international could well thrive and it is hoped that, albeit in somewhat different circumstances, it could be similar to Jack Wilshere’s productive loan spell at Bolton in 2010.
There could be a scenario where Arsenal loan Nwaneri out and then suffer injuries in midfield but in any case a temporary transfer certainly appears to be the best step for his development at this stage.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of [www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com](https://arsenalyouth.wordpress.com/) Follow him on Twitter [@jeorgebird](https://twitter.com/jeorgebird)