“They always score so many goals anytime he start but I don’t why Arteta is finding it difficult to start him…This kid is talented but Arteta isn’t seeing it, we’ll go for him in January”: Man city coach Pep Guardiola says he’s not happy with Arteta’s decision to always bench a super-talented youngster, wows to sign him in January
Arsenal wonderkid Ethan Nwaneri has earned big praise from Gunners legend Paul Merson, who was clearly impressed with what he saw from him in yesterday’s win over Nottingham Forest.
Nwaneri, still only 17 years of age, is showing tremendous potential with his performances for Arsenal at the moment, and it seems inevitable that he’ll be starting more matches for Mikel Arteta’s side before too long.
For now, Nwaneri is having to make do with the odd cameo off the bench, or an appearance in the cup competitions, but it’s going to be getting harder and harder for Arteta to keep the teenager out of his first-team.
Brought on as a substitute in yesterday’s 3-0 victory over Forest, Nwaneri showed some real quality on the ball before breaking into the box late on to add the third goal at the Emirates Stadium.
Merson praised Arsenal’s performance in general, but singled out Nwaneri during his analysis as he praised the England youth international as a talent.
Paul Merson’s high praise for Ethan Nwaneri
Speaking on Sky Sports, as quoted by the Metro, Merson said: “And then Nwaneri… 17 years old, what a talent that kid is, he gets a good goal.
“They needed to win, they showed a bit of armoury and then they stepped it off a bit to get ready for midweek.”
Merson was a great player for Arsenal back in his day, so he knows a thing or two about what it takes to play in that attacking midfield department for the north London giants.
Nwaneri is clearly something special and he’ll hope to keep on making the most of these occasional first-team opportunities he’s getting.
Arsenal’s academy is really producing quality players at the moment, with Nwaneri following Bukayo Saka as a homegrown talent with seemingly genuine world class potential, while others like Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson also look like solid Premier League players.
