Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta spoke about academy graduates Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly before the Gunners took on Bournemouth
LISBON, PORTUGAL - APRIL 6: Arsenal Head Coach Mikel Arteta attends a press conference before UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Quarter-Final First Leg match between Sporting and Arsenal FC at Estadio Jose Alvalade on April 06, 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo by Luis Loureiro/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta has spoken about Arsenal's academy players(Image: Eurasia Sport Images, Getty Images)
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta indicated this week he won't hesitate to make tough decisions regarding the futures of academy products Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly. The timing proved particularly unfortunate for the former, who remained an unused substitute for Marseille on Friday evening, while the latter started just his second league game this season when Bournemouth took home all three points from north London on Saturday.
Arteta's title contenders may require player sales to help balance the books during the summer window. A number of first-team players could be up for grabs, with teenagers Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly among those rumoured to be at risk of an exit.
The manager acknowledged the significance of the Hale End academy in supplying talent to the senior squad. However, he equally emphasised that youngsters hold no guaranteed playing time unless they get there on merit.
"It's (the academy system) part of us," Arteta said the day before the Bournemouth game. "At the end what has to define this football club is to seek for excellence and seek for the best, regardless if you're coming from the academy or abroad.
"If we can have players from Hale End, much better because the identity is there. We grow with them and they know exactly what we're looking for.
"But at the end they have to earn it. Not for a week, not for a month, for years. Like anybody else, it doesn't matter what department or role you have in the club. You have to sustain performance and that has to be at the very highest level if we want to win and be where we want to be."
Marseille's English forward #11 Ethan Nwaneri (C) vies with Monaco's Senegalese midfielder #15 Lamine Camara (L) and Monaco's French midfielder #23 Aladji Bamba (R) during the French L1 football match between Monaco (ASM) and Olympique de Marseille (OM) at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco on April 5, 2026. (Photo by Frederic DIDES / AFP via Getty Images)
Ethan Nwaneri has been out of the Arsenal team of late(Image: FREDERIC DIDES, AFP via Getty Images)
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Nwaneri, 19, joined Marseille on loan for the second half of the campaign. He netted on his debut for the French side but watched manager Roberto De Zerbi depart just weeks afterwards.
The attacking midfielder has been given fewer chances under De Zerbi's successor Habib Beye. He's yet to make a start under the Senegalese boss and remained on the bench throughout Friday's 3-1 victory over Metz.
Nwaneri featured on the right of a front three under De Zerbi and came on for Mason Greenwood in the recent loss to Lille - the sole occasion he's played beyond 45 minutes under Beye - after his compatriot went off injured. Greenwood returned to the starting XI against Metz despite not being completely fit and contributed two assists as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Igor Paixao and Hamed Traore all scored.
"Yesterday, he told me he wasn't 100%, he was still in pain. This morning, he told me he was feeling much better," Beye said of Greenwood after the win.
"Against low blocks, we need technical players. He brought a lot to our game. He reassured me. You can see the attacking quality he provides. We'll have him back at 100% during the week."
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