Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta 'missed a trick' by not giving Ethan Nwaneri more minutes during Martin Odegaard's injury layoff, according to Gunners expert Charles Watts.
Captain Odegaard spent almost two months on the sidelines with an ankle injury sustained in the September international break, but he made his return to the starting lineup in the Gunners' 1-1 draw with Chelsea two weekends ago.
Seventeen-year-old Nwaneri was an unused substitute in that stalemate after coming off the bench in Arsenal's prior three matches, but he has played just 52 minutes in the top flight this season and is yet to start a Premier League game.
When asked by Sports Mole if Nwaneri's situation can be likened to Phil Foden, who was also eased in gradually at Manchester City, Watts agreed, although he feels that Arteta could have utilised Nwaneri more while Odegaard was on the sidelines.
"I definitely see similarities," Watts said. "I think they are there for all to see in terms of how Foden was eased into the team and how Guardiola pushed back against the clamour to get him involved more. I actually think Mikel's missed a bit of a trick with Ethan while Martin Odegaard was out.
"I felt out of everyone in the squad, obviously they're completely at different age spectrums and experience, but Ethan's attributes are probably the most similar to Martin's in the squad. And when you let Emile Smith Rowe go, when you let Fabio Vieira go, and you're relying on Odegaard to stay fit, when he doesn't stay fit, the one player there who could have given you something similar to what Martin could give you, was Ethan Nwaneri. And whenever he came on the pitch, you could see it was just an immediate impact.
"He looks ready. Yes, he's really, really young, but from what we've seen when he's on the pitch, and that's all we can really judge him on, is he looks ready and he looks perfectly at home in the environment of the Premier League and potentially even the Champions League. You saw in a brief spell [against Inter] Milan, he came on and made something happen. Didn't lead to a goal, but he made something happen that no one else had really on the pitch during that second half.
Watts names two Premier League games Nwaneri could have started for Arsenal
"I do look at it now and think Mikel's missed some opportunities. I can understand away at Man City, away at Spurs, away at Chelsea, you're not really going to throw Ethan Nwaneri in from the start, but the home games against Leicester, Southampton, he could have started one of those. I don't think you need to go as defensive-minded maybe as Mikel did in those games. And there was an opportunity to start Ethan, and it was an opportunity that's obviously gone by now.
"I'm absolutely not saying he should be starting every single game, and he has to be managed carefully, no doubt about that. But I do feel that there were opportunities to maybe give him that first Premier League start and just see what he could have done. Because I I don't think he would have been overawed by the situation at all. I think he would have handled it and handled it really well and maybe provided Arsenal that spark that they were really, really clearly missing when Odegaard was out."
Still the Premier League's youngest-ever player, having come on against Brentford at the age of just 15 years and 181 days in September 2022, Nwaneri's only starts for Arsenal have come in the EFL Cup this season, but he made a major impact in both contests.
The 2007-born playmaker bagged a brace in the 5-1 third-round beating of Bolton Wanderers before firing in a delightful long-range curler in the 3-0 fourth-round win over Preston North End, becoming the youngest-ever player to score in both of their first two starts for the Gunners.
Nwaneri also scored twice for England's Under-19s during the November international break, and even though Watts feels that he should have started a Premier League game by now, he conceded that the Hale End product has earned more opportunities than he expected at the start of the season.
"You look around the Premier League right now and the sort of top clubs in the league, there's not many 17-year-olds who have been getting the minutes that Ethan Nwaneri has been getting this season," Watts added. "He is getting game time. To be honest, he's had more game time at the start of the season than I was expecting him to have. But I do feel maybe there was the opportunity to give him just a little bit more because it just looks like he can handle it.
Could Leandro Trossard injury open the door for Nwaneri?
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"I've not seen anything to suggest it would have harmed his development, he just seems to say everything in his stride. And he comes on, he makes things happen. He wants the ball. Players absolutely trust to give him the ball, which is such a telltale sign. If they're happy to give him the ball in tight situations in a Premier League game, in a Champions League game, they know he's got the talent to handle it.
"I do feel there was an opportunity missed, but it's easy for me to say; I'm not the manager, am I? I've got this 17-year-old kid that I'm trying to nurture and bring through the best way I possibly can. Obviously Arteta is the manager and he does know best, but there's certainly not just me, there's a lot of Arsenal fans out there who wish we'd seen a little bit more of Ethan during this time."
While Nwaneri came through the international break unscathed, the same cannot be said of his fellow attacker Leandro Trossard, who picked up an unspecified injury in Belgium's UEFA Nations League loss to Israel over the weekend.
The severity of Trossard's problem is yet to be determined, but the Belgian's absence has heightened hopes that Nwaneri could finally earn his maiden Premier League start in an Arsenal shirt before the New Year.
However, with Odegaard fit and firing again, Watts believes that the path to the first XI will now be even more difficult for Nwaneri to tread, as the likes of Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus should benefit more from Trossard's injury.
"With Ethan, I'd be surprised to be honest," Watts said. "Now that Martin Odegaard's back, I think the route for minutes for Ethan Nwaneri might be a little bit, or even more tougher than it has been. I still look at Trossard mainly as his cover for the left-hand side for [Gabriel] Martinelli, or cover to play in that false nine position that he's operated in very, very well for Arsenal.
"I think Ethan is just a little bit different in terms of his minutes. I think the people who might benefit from Trossard's absence more, Jesus potentially, who we've seen used out wide at times, but certainly Raheem Sterling, it's an opportunity maybe for him to get a bit of game time."
Nwaneri pleas fall on deaf ears, but a first-choice midfield for Arteta?
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While Gooners may be disappointed to see Nwaneri consigned to the fringes, Watts refused to downplay the importance of Odegaard's return and is excited at the prospect of a Mikel Merino-Declan Rice-Odegaard midfield lining up for the first time.
"The return of Martin Odegaard just before the international break, and the fact that he didn't go over to Norway, for Arsenal, that's just a huge boost, absolutely massive boost," Watts said.
"And then putting him back into his usual position, you've got the option for the first time, arguably this season, of maybe seeing the first-choice midfield that I think we all expected Arteta to go with when Mikel Merino came in, which is potentially Declan Rice dropping back into that number six role and having Odegaard and Merino playing ahead of him as the two rotating number eights.
"There are options maybe available to Mikel now that he didn't have in previous weeks leading up to the international break. For Ethan Nwaneri, there's a lot of people who really want him to get more minutes and think he deserves more minutes. He got a fantastic goal for England Under-19s again during the international break, which again led to more calls for him to come back. But I do feel maybe that his chances are going to be a little bit more limited now than they even have been while Odegaard's been away."
Nwaneri will be expected to be on the bench for Arsenal in Saturday's Premier League clash with high-flying Nottingham Forest, who are only behind the fourth-placed Gunners on goal difference in the top-flight table.
Ben Knapton
