Mikel Arteta offers a sentimental explanation for Ethan Nwaneri’s full Premier League debut

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta insisted Ethan Nwaneri was handed his full Premier League debut in Wednesday’s win over Brentford on merit and not as a result of the illness that has gripped the Gunners’ squad.

“[It] It’s great to see him play with that grit and determination. He played in that position not because of a mistake. It was a decision I made because I thought he was the best player to start the game,” Arteta explained.

But there was another factor that also played a role naming the 17-year-old in the lineup.

Nwaneri made history in September 2022 when he came off the bench against Brentford and became the youngest player in Arsenal and the history of the English Premier League, aged 15 years and 181 days.

Therefore, Arteta felt it was a natural thing to hand the youngster a first league start against the same opposition at the same stadium.

“It was a story with his debut here and then creating his own [full] Premier League debut. “Sometimes you get that feeling and you feel it’s real,” the manager said.

“Part of that development is patience, managing frustrations and expectations because you expect everything to go as fast as the previous things, but that’s not the case. So now we’re building him up, he’s already played a lot of games and he deserves it.”

Nwaneri could end up getting an extended spell at Arsenal, while Bukayo Saka has paused due to injury at least until the beginning of March. After the trip to Brighton, the Gunners quickly face Newcastle United in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, before hosting Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup three days before the north London derby.

There are also two more Champions League games until the end of January, a month in which Arsenal will take to the pitch nine times.

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