Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has likened Ethan Nwaneri to former prodigy Jack Wilshere ahead of the youngster’s potential Champions League debut this evening.
Three Arsenal youngsters, Ethan Nwaneri, Lino Sousa and Reuell Walters are all poised to make their Champions League debuts this evening in Arsenal’s dead rubber game against PSV Eindhoven.
With both sides already qualifying for the knockout stages and first and second place also already decided in Group B, both sides can take the opportunity to rotate their squads and give a selection of youth players some first-team exposure.
What Did Arteta Say On The Three Arsenal Youngsters Poised To Make Their Champions League Debuts?
Speaking to the media ahead of his side’s Champions League game, Arteta discussed the three youngsters hopeful of being involved: “Three big prospects. We want to bring a lot of players from a system and they deserve to be here. They’re still really really young but we want to get them the experience because they have the talent hopefully to be very close to us,” he said.
“We’ll try to give them the opportunity if we can in the right moment. Obviously it gets harder and harder, so the talent has to be really good and and you have to find and build the space in the squad to give that talent an opportunity.
“We should not forget that because it’s a big part of what we want to do in the future. And especially when you have it, you cannot let it go. I think we have some good space and good talent to develop in the environment.
“I think on TV, it looks easier. If one day we give them a chance to train with the boys, they will probably realise that the level is really, really high. The competition is huge, because we can pick players from anywhere in the world and we have the ability to do that.”
Now that we've already qualified for the knockouts as group leaders,,
Should Arteta give the academy player a chance to showcase their talents too?🤔
I mean today's match is the only one they can get a taste of Champions league night football 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/Z3EZJX6PYy
— Brad. (@Diablogooner_) December 12, 2023
What Did Arteta Say About Nwaneri Ahead Of His Champions League Debut?
However, Ethan Nwaneri, who became the youngest player to ever play in the Premier League last season, has caught the Spanish coach’s eye in particular.
On Nwaneri, Arteta said: “There’s something unique that he’s got that I really liked from the beginning, his ability to take the ball in tight areas and to escape a little bit like Jack Wilshere used to do. The personality he has, he trains with us like he trains with the under-18s or under-16s and I love that in a player.
“He’s got that bit between his teeth as well that he wants to show every single day how good he is and to impress people. When you have someone like that, you have to give him hope and as well it was a really important moment for us.
Ethan Nwaneri's 5 goals in the 2nd half of the FA Youth Cup. He absolutely took over the match. 1st team debut against PSV loading…pic.twitter.com/bkqEuTAYhW
— Will Balsam (@willbalsam) December 10, 2023
“We really wanted to keep him and I think it was a strange sign for him that this is his place for him to develop. It is early days, but we need to get the machine going because we want more of those and we have to produce more of those.
“There’s a lot of work going into the academy and that’s big credit to all of them every single day for the amount of work that they’re putting in. They do a lot, they’ve planted the seeds and now we need to bring them up.”
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