Mikel Arteta heaped praise on Ethan Nwaneri after his brace against Bolton Wanderers in midweek but called for patience over his progress – with the Spaniard opting to name teenager on the bench against Leicester
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta stuck to his guns by naming youngster Ethan Nwaneri on the bench against Leicester – after insisting the 17-year-old would have to be patient over his first senior start.
Nwaneri is one of Arsenal’s brightest stars at the club and outlined his talent by netting twice in a 5-1 win over Bolton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
Arteta heaped praise on the teenager after his impressive display against Wanderers but called for patience over his progress after joking some of his young players “have school in the morning” – saying that a Premier League start was “another step” for Nwaneri.
And the Spaniard was as good as his word as Nwaneri started on the bench against the Foxes – picking the same starting XI he went with for the 2-2 draw away at Manchester City last week.
Arteta has shown how much he rates Nwaneri – involving him in a number of first team training sessions and matchday squads, with the player becoming the youngest player in Premier League history after making his Gunners debut aged just 15 in 2022.
However, he is yet to make a start in the league and only has a total of four minutes of game time in the top flight this season – with Arteta keen to keep his feet on the ground after his superb performance against Bolton.
“There are a few players who have school in the morning! They are buzzing,” said Arteta. “Ethan was really good. A really strong performance. He feels part of us and is playing with that confidence and belief.
“To start in the Premier League is another step. On his journey he is ahead of where we expected. He will have minutes. He deserves it.”
The huge win over Bolton also saw a handful of other youngsters given chances to shine, including 16-year-old goalkeeper Jack Porter – who started the game after on-loan Neto was cup tied and first choice David Raya picked up an injury.
Arteta said of Porter: “We told him yesterday and he was over the moon straight away. I think he spoke to his family and they weren’t prepared for that.
“It’s a big step, it’s a big occasion for them and I think they were nervous about it. But I think he reacted really well, he was really composed yesterday in training and today as well. His teammates really helped him as well on that. What an experience and what a way to break a record.”
