Mikel Arteta not afraid to hand Ethan Nwaneri first Arsenal start at Tottenham

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·13 September 2024

Mikel Arteta not afraid to hand Ethan Nwaneri first Arsenal start at Tottenham

Gunners facing midfield crisis for trip to bitter rivals

Mikel Arteta would not fear handing Ethan Nwaneri his first start for Arsenal in Sunday’s north London derby.

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Arsenal are facing a midfield crisis ahead of their trip to Tottenham this weekend, with Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino out due to injury.

Declan Rice is also suspended, which is forcing Arteta into a rethink and Nwaneri is one of the possible solutions.

The 17-year-old has been tipped for big things at Arsenal, but he is yet to start a senior game for them.

Arteta, however, believes Nwaneri has the potential to “shine” and isn’t afraid of giving youngsters like him a chance - even ahead of a big game like Spurs.

“We have to adapt to that throughout the season,” said Arteta. “We are going to have this kind of situation.

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“It has happened very early, since the second game. The bench against Brighton was very different to the one we probably all expected.

“We have to face it and use the opportunity as the kids have given us a lot of hope and right reasons to count on them. If we have to then we will, for sure.”

Nwaneri has long been tipped for the top by those at Arsenal and Arteta has praised the work of academy staff to get him to the level he is now.

“Huge development,” said Arteta. “I think big credit to everybody working in the academy, the coaches starting with Jack (Wilshere), Mehmet (Ali), all the coaches around him, Per (Mertesacker), that have prepared the player to be in the right position right now to shine and be prepared for the different context, and obviously the demands that he is going to be facing right now.

“He’s been doing really well, physically very mature, personally very mature, his game understanding has improved a lot. And then let him do. He has an enormous quality, a lot of talent and he needs the space to shine.”