What a magical night it was for many of Arsenal’s young players as four made debuts and two others got their first competitive starts against Bolton Wanderers. Ethan Nwaneri however was the main focus for many and certainly that was evident by the extra loud cheer he received when his name was read out ahead of kick-off.
The two goals he scored on the night however might have been more than anyone dreamed of. It led to chants of ‘One of our own’ being sung around the Emirates Stadium and the 17-year-old described it as a surreal feeling to experience it.
“It’s a great feeling when the club you love, the club you’ve grown up with, the fans are chanting your name,” he said. “It’s a surreal feeling. It’s a feeling I’ve wanted to feel for almost 16 years of my life so to actually feel it, it’s crazy… I just want more of it.”
The question is will he indeed get more of it? Well, after his two goals, plenty of supporters have called on Mikel Arteta to take the leap of faith already, especially with what most would describe as a favourable weekend fixture against struggling Leicester. The absence of Martin Odegaard has opened the door to Nwaneri and Arteta has indeed already given his thoughts on the matter when it was put to him after Wednesday night’s game.
“Let’s go, it’s another step, I think it’s ahead of what anyone could have expected, in his journey with the first team he’s always ahead of what anyone expected and what I expected as well. He’s part of us so he will have the minutes.”
Personally, I would be minded to be still somewhat hesitant to throw Nwaneri in this weekend. After the draw with Manchester City, I am keen for there to be very little, if any, risk taken this weekend and therefore would put out the strongest side possible even with PSG on the horizon.
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This does not mean however that he should not be allowed a significant amount of time in the game. The hope will be, like against Bolton, Arsenal will have control of the game with a solid lead going into the second half, removing the nerves and providing an opportunity.
This is where Nwaneri can enter the fray and continue his controlled development. The same could then happen against PSG and with the hosting of another relegation battler, Southampton, next week and a trip to Bournemouth the gameweek after there are chances for Nwaneri to be given a start.
The latter fixture is after the international break and both Odegaard and Mikel Merino will be pushing to make their long-awaited returns by this time too. Nwaneri’s battle for minutes will get tougher but when the chances come, he has shown to be impressive in trying to take them.
