Ask an Arsenal fan what the positives to come out of this season have been, and we'd bet their only answer would be the development of their youth talent.
For example, the player who's been on everyone's lips over the last couple of weeks has been Hale End's own Myles Lewis-Skelly.
The incredible talent was named in Thomas Tuchel's first England squad, and on top of starting both games, he scored on his debut, sending his stock stratospheric.
Arsenal-Nwaneri-Lewis-Skelly
The good news is that Hale End's conveyor belt of talent is showing no signs of slowing down either, and one youngster looks like he could be the club's next Martin Odegaard, and no, it's not Ethan Nwaneri.
Nwaneri's rapid rise
The first glimpse fans got of Nwaneri in the first team came all the way back in September 2022, when Mikel Arteta sent him on in the dying embers of a 3-0 Premier League win away to Brentford.
The Hale End sensation was just 15 years and 181 days old at the time, making him the competition's youngest player ever, and while he made another short cameo away to West Ham United the following campaign, he had to wait until this season to truly get his chance in the first team.
However, while he was likely clamouring to get on the pitch earlier, it appears as if Arteta and Co played it perfectly, as not only is the 18-year-old now regularly starting games but he's also been arguably the team's most dangerous attacker since Bukayo Saka suffered his hamstring injury in December.
Nwaneri's 24/25
Appearances
Starts
Minutes
Goals
Assists
Goal Involvements per Match
Minutes per Goal Involvement
All Stats via Transfermarkt
For example, in just 29 appearances, totalling 1087 minutes, the "unplayable" teen, as dubbed by Jack Wilshere, has scored eight goals and provided one assist, meaning he's averaging a goal involvement every 3.22 appearances, or, far more impressively, every 120.77 minutes.
So, with this rapid rise from academy gem to first-team star, why is the Enfield-born ace the club's 'next Odegaard?'
Well, simply put, it seems like Nwaneri's best position, at least for the time being, is on the wing, and when he does play in midfield, he is far more aggressive than the Norwegian and far more intent on scoring himself than playing an intricate passing game and laying the ball off for someone else to finish.
Moreover, there is another young star in Hale End who very much could be the next iteration of the captain.
In the pipeline
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
Arsenal's next Odegaard
This season has been quite remarkable in terms of youth players like Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly coming straight into and thriving in the first team for Arsenal, but the same thing could happen with Dan Casey next year.
The incredible 17-year-old prospect has been in sensational form for the youth sides this term and could be the academy gem who eventually takes Odegaard's place in the first team set up a few years from now.
With that said, what makes the Hale Ender a potential candidate to replace the Norwegian in the long term?
Casey's positional versatility
Position
Attacking Midfield
Central Midfield
Centre-Forward
Defensive Midfield
Right-Winger
Left-Winger
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Well, the first thing is that he is far more positionally similar to the 26-year-old than Nwaneri, for example, as while he can play out wide and has even spent some time up top, his two most played positions are attacking and central midfield.
So, this would indicate that, like the former Real Madrid ace, he can be an incredibly effective outlet in the final third, but also has the game intelligence and technical ability to play in deeper areas and bring the ball out from the back when needed.
The second reason he could follow in the Drammen-born star's footsteps is that he simply has the raw talent to do so.
For example, in 24 appearances this season, totalling 1589 minutes, the "box-crashing" midfielder, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, has put the ball in the back of the net 17 times and provided two assists to boot.
Casey's 24/25
Appearances
Minutes
Goals
Assists
Goal Involvements per Match
Minutes per Goal Involvement
All Stats via Transfermarkt
That means the "very talented" 17-year-old, as dubbed by Hale End expert Jeorge Bird, is averaging a goal involvement every 1.26 appearances, or every 83.63 minutes.
Ultimately, Arsenal have seen a couple of potential superstars come out of the academy this season, and with Casey, it looks like it could happen again next year.
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[Their answer to Kane: Arsenal make £67m "monster" their number one target](https://www.footballfancast.com/their-answer-to-kane-arsenal-make-seasko-their-primary-target/ "Their answer to Kane: Arsenal make £67m "monster" their number one target")
The incredible forward would be a game-changer for Arsenal next season.