Arsenal fans should not expect Ethan Nwaneri to start Premier League matches week in week out in the wake of Bukayo Saka's injury, Gunners expert Charles Watts has warned.
Mikel Arteta's side have been rocked by the news that Saka will spend "many weeks" on the sidelines with the serious hamstring problem he sustained in the first half of Saturday's 5-1 thrashing of Crystal Palace.
As Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson were both loaned out in the summer, Arsenal are short of genuine right-wing cover for Saka - who is not expected to play again until late February or early March - but the embryonic Nwaneri is a possible solution.
The 2007-born starlet is yet to start a Premier League game, though, and speaking to Sports Mole, Watts highlighted Nwaneri's recent mediocre cameos against Everton and Crystal Palace as an "eye-opener" to Arsenal fans crying out for the 17-year-old to come into the first XI.
"I think he'll do what's best for the long term," Watts said when asked whether Nwaneri could be pressed into action while Saka is absent. "I think we'll see more minutes from him.
'Nwaneri really struggled against Everton, Palace'
"I think it's been interesting watching Nwaneri with his substitute appearance against Everton and then the start in the EFL Cup game against Palace when he got taken off at half time, he really did struggle in those two games.
"In terms of where he should be on the pitch, his positioning, he did drift out to the right a lot, certainly for the cup game as well. And that left a big gaping hole. And I wasn't surprised when he didn't come out for the second half.
"But I think for him, that'll be a really key part of his development. And he needs to know at 17, it's not all highs. You're going to have to deal with lows, and I think those lows are almost as important to any player's development at that age than the highs are.
"We will see him play more minutes. But I think those two games, those two appearances, certainly a bit of an eye opener to some Arsenal fans that he is just still a 17-year-old kid. And it is very, very important to remember that."
Two years on from becoming the youngest player to play in the Premier League at 15 years and 181 days old, Nwaneri has had a breakthrough campaign in 2024-25, netting four goals and excelling in the EFL Cup in particular.
The teenager capped off Arsenal's 3-0 fourth-round win at Preston North End by cutting inside from the right and bending a brilliant left-footed curler into the far corner, a carbon copy of the finish that Saka produced on the opening day of last season against Nottingham Forest.
'No better option than Nwaneri on his left foot'
© Imago
Cutting inside from that flank and either delivering a cross or going for goal has become Saka's trademark, and Watts believes that there is "no better option" to replicate that effective play than Nwaneri, but his age must still be taken into account.
"I can't imagine Mikel is going to go 'we've lost Bukayo Saka, our best player. Let's put on a 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri to try and cope without him,'" Watts added. "I think he'll be very wary of doing that.
"But I do think we'll see more minutes for Nwaneri, he's definitely an option. When you look at the squad, if you want someone to play on that right-hand side and can come in on his left foot, there's no real better option that Arsenal have than Ethan.
"But as Mikel said, it's probably not going to be like for like, it's going to be finding a different way to play in Saka's absence."
Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz represent other alternative options to Saka on the right flank, although Watts opted for a different solution when naming his number one choice to fill in for the 23-year-old.
Saka begins his absence from the Arsenal XI on Friday, when the Gunners host Ipswich Town in their next Premier League contest.
Ben Knapton
