“I believe Arsenal will win Premier League this season but if only Arteta stop benching him”: Arsenal’s legend Arsene Wenger names ONE Arsenal’s player who should be undroppable after West Ham United win
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard can’t shake off an injury curse, and he was forced off in his side’s encounter with West Ham United on Saturday, but Mikel Arteta made the wrong substitution. The Spaniard replaced the Norwegian playmaker with Martin Zubimendi despite Ethan Nwaneri sitting on the bench.
Nwaneri is biding his time for an opportunity to feature in Arteta’s team, but the club’s transfer business, which brought Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke to the Emirates, led to speculation about the 18-year-old contemplating his future. Those concerns over his place in the North Londoners’ team were put to bed when he put pen to paper on a new five-year £100,000 per week contract in August.
The Hale End academy graduate may have been given promises regarding game time that have not been fulfilled yet. Odegaard’s knee injury means his manager has the chance to hand the youngster more first-team football.
Take A Chance On Ethan
Nwaneri is one of the most exciting young talents in the country, and he broke onto the scene in September 2022 when he made his debut at the age of just 15. He became the youngest player in Premier League history, and Arsenal had unearthed another gem akin to Bukayo Saka and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
The English teenager’s preferred position is attacking midfield, where Odegaard is first choice in Arteta’s side. When the Gunners’ skipper sustained a knee injury against West Ham, it made sense for the Spaniard to turn to the academy graduate.
Arteta instead turned to Zubimendi, a perplexing decision given that Nwaneri offers a more attacking profile. He has yet to start a single Premier League game this season and has appeared three times off the bench, amounting to just 130 minutes worth of game time.
His manager insisted this week that the versatile attacker would be given more opportunities and that his three substitute appearances were a result of Odegaard’s injury woes. He said: “Ethan has played two games in the Premier League very early because of an injury to Martin”. “He played in other competitions and he will play more.”
What will Arteta’s excuse be now that his captain could be sidelined? The accusations of putting the handbrake on will likely be thrown at the Spaniard if he continues with Zubimendi over Nwaneri in midfield during Odegaard’s potential absence.
Nwaneri, dubbed “special” by Odegaard, has the backing of fans who are eager for their coach to turn to the English wonderkid. But Arteta may point out how he took a similar approach over William Saliba and the depth of his squad means he can afford to continue slowly developing him.
