Arsenal’s ‘Extra Special’ Nwaneri: The Rationale Behind a Patient Approach

Arsenal secured a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, a match manager Mikel Arteta commented the Gunners “should have scored more” in. When a player’s name is mentioned alongside Cesc Fabregas, it often signals a promising future. Arsenal returned to winning form against Nottingham Forest, with contributions from established players and a notable 17-year-old talent. This win followed a period where Mikel Arteta’s squad had lost ground in the Premier League title race, having failed to secure a victory in their preceding four fixtures. Bukayo Saka, who had withdrawn from England’s recent Nations League matches due to a leg injury, initiated Arsenal’s scoring. He netted his first goal in five games after linking up with captain Martin Odegaard. Saka subsequently assisted Thomas Partey for the second goal, before attacking midfielder Ethan Nwaneri, who will not reach 18 until March, offered a glimpse into Arsenal’s future by scoring his inaugural top-flight goal to seal the points. London-born Nwaneri, at 17 years and 247 days old, became Arsenal’s second-youngest Premier League goalscorer. He is surpassed only by Fabregas, who scored at 17 years and 113 days in 2004 and later won the World Cup with Spain. Furthermore, he ranks as the ninth youngest scorer in the history of the Premier League. Former Scotland winger Pat Nevin commented on BBC Radio 5 Live, “I have seen Ethan Nwaneri a couple of times and he’s extra special.” Nevin also noted, “Arsenal left Kai Havertz and Declan Rice out and we hardly even noticed it.” The victory served as a fitting way for Arteta to commemorate his 250th game managing the Gunners, who now trail leaders Liverpool by six points, having played one additional match. Nwaneri previously made history as the youngest player in Premier League history when he debuted in Arsenal’s 3-0 win at Brentford in September 2022, aged just 15 years and 181 days. At that time, Arsenal’s travelling supporters chanted, “School in the morning, he’s got school in the morning.” On Saturday, following his goal, tens of thousands of fans at Emirates Stadium sang, “he’s one of our own, Ethan Nwaneri, he’s one of our own.” Following impressive performances in the EFL Cup, fans have been advocating for the teenager to receive more playing time, and his well-executed goal against Forest is expected to intensify this demand. This season, he has accumulated four goals in 238 minutes across all competitions, comprising 170 minutes in the EFL Cup, 60 in the Premier League, and eight in the Champions League. Among players under 18 in Europe’s top five leagues this season, Nwaneri is one of only two to have scored more than once across all competitions, the other being 17-year-old Barcelona and Spain talent Lamine Yamal. Arteta elaborated on his strategy of managing Nwaneri’s minutes “step by step” after the win against Forest. The Arsenal manager stated, “He’s giving us all the reasons to play, another reason to put him there.” Arteta continued, “I am responsible to build a career for him. You have to do that brick by brick. Today he put another brick.” He further explained, “Now we have to put cement, make sure it doesn’t get dry so we can put another one and that will stick. Then we put one more layer, one more layer.” Arteta cautioned, “If you want to put five in a row believe me – it won’t work. We have to manage not only his expectation but his workload as well, which is really important.” He concluded, “You can sense how much the crowd loves watching this kid play and the energy.” Ethan Nwaneri recorded 16 touches, completed 11 passes, and took two shots, scoring one goal, after coming on for Martin Odegaard in the 82nd minute. Odegaard has now contributed two assists in his last two league appearances since recovering from a significant ankle injury. Arteta remarked, “It’s not a coincidence, the team flows in a different way when he is playing.” He added, “When he’s in the team, you can sense something that is different. It’s difficult to put a finger on it, but it’s different.” Meanwhile, Saka concluded the match with an additional assist, his eighth in the Premier League this season, alongside scoring the opening goal. Arteta believes that a fit and in-form Odegaard and Saka can help propel the Gunners, who had dropped 10 points in their previous four league games before Saturday, back into contention for the title race. Arteta commented on their partnership, “There’s chemistry, sometimes you meet somebody, straight away you make eye contact and something flows. That’s the case with those two.” He elaborated, “When you put them together in the right spaces, things flourish and things happen naturally. With others, you try to force it and it doesn’t work.” Arteta expressed, “With these two, we are very lucky to have them.” Former England striker Alan Shearer told BBC Match of the Day, “Odegaard and Saka are telepathic at times. They understand each other’s game so well.”