Nwaneri

Arsenal fans need to trust Arteta to manage Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly’s game time

I know I’ve been one of those who has urged Mikel Arteta to take a risk and start Hale End players Ethan Nwaneri (who many believe can replace Martin Odegaard) and Myles Lewis Skelly (who can excel at left back).

Despite these calls, Mikel Arteta has resisted pressure and has not felt ready to play the youngsters.

Myles-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri
(Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Don’t you think there’s a valid reason why he hasn’t started the duo in the league? Some Gooners may cite the impressive 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, who is trusted at Barcelona and is impressing as a reason for Nwaneri and Lewis Skelly to take a chance on the young talents.

We must comprehend the significant differences between the Premier League and La Liga. You don’t have time to ponder in the PL; it is an intense and physical league that needs wisdom when introducing new players. Mikel Merino, for example, struggled to find his footing in the Premier League when he first joined Newcastle.

Mikel Arteta knows what’s best, as seen by Arsenal’s development under his leadership. Some forget that it was the Spaniard who gave Nwaneri his first professional start at the age of 15 against Brentford. Fans cannot choose which players start; Arteta does. If things go wrong, it is his job that’s at risk.

With that out of the way, Arteta frequently discusses how subs are just as vital as starters. And this season, he has occasionally trusted Lewis Skelly and Nwaneri to come on as substitutes in key games over other experienced players.

That definitely indicates that he sees their value to his project. Where were you when Wenger turned us into a banter club for years, playing the youths without winning anything? Nwaneri and Lewis Skelly are destined to establish themselves in Arsenal’s starting lineup, but only at the proper time when Arteta thinks they are ready..

Peter Rix


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Tags Myles Lewis-Skelly Nwaneri

15 Comments

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  1. Think it’s the other way around, more the gaffer needs to trust the two kids , it would also aid his man management craft.

  2. I think that they both need more game-time, but that’s not the same as the football equivalent of “throwing them in the deep end”. It’s usually a tricky balancing act because no two youngsters are the same when faced with topflight opposition for more than the usual (to date) ten or twenty minutes.

    As Arteta and his staff certainly aren’t going to take any notice of what fans say about it, we’ll just have to trust to their judgement. Personally, I hope the youngsters do get more of a run out, possibly in the domestic cups at least, but we’ll have to see.

  3. The truth is Arteta isn’t doing enough to trust in the academy players. From what I have seen so far in our last 9 games there are matches these Boys could have been given at least 30minutes playing time especially Nwaneri. Nwaneri path to first team would become more difficult when Odegard returns in two weeks.

    If Wenger never believed in CFabrigas, VParsey, HBellerin, JWiishare they will never grow to become top stars. In Arteta’s five season we can only see Bukayo Saka risen to first team.

    My worry is if Myles Skelly & Nwaneri won’t seek greener pastures soon like Chido Obi and other youths .

    1. It’s increasingly frustrating seeing some fans believe this strange “myth” of Arteta not trusting youth and academy players. It’s simply not true.

      Also, Cesc, RVP and Bellerin were not true academy players, they were just young signings from abroad that Wenger gave a chance to. No different from Martinelli say. In fact, RVP had almost 80 appearances under his belt playing in Feyenoord’s first team before signing for us.

      Arteta started his rebuild around youth, and academy players such as ESR and Saka. Saka being is most trusted player by the way.

      We almost won the title two years ago with the youngest squad in the league, and got even closer last season with the third youngest squad, with an academy player being one of our most important players. In fact, almost the entirety of Saka’s career has been under Arteta, and from his coaching, has developed into one of the best wingers in the world.

      It’s also very rare that academy players come through and become crucial players at top clubs, and even rarer if it’s more than one at the same time.

      Arteta has proven he trusts youth, and academy players. The only reason that ESR lost Arteta’s trust was because of injuries, not because he was an academy player, and the exact same can be said of Tomi, Jesus, Tierney, etc who are all well down the pecking order.

      I agree, I thought we would have seen more of Nwaneri by now, especially with Odegaard out, but I think that all of our games have been so tight scoreline wise, that Arteta didn’t want to risk such an inexperienced player, unless he was a little desperate like against Leicester and Liverpool.

      Finally, Arteta see’s Nwaneri everyday in training, and there is the possibility that he’s either not showing enough to be picked or that ourselves and the media have overhyped him.

    2. You say last 9 matches and i just checked that never in those matches were we comfortable enough to give the kids minutes apart from the bolton game in which both kids started and the psg game.

  4. They should be playing tomorrow in Carabao Cup. We should not risk any important player in this competition. We got enough of them in the sick bay.

  5. Arteta and his team know more about these youngsters than we do.

    It’s the same nearly every season, once some of our fans latch onto a certain favourite young / flavour of the moment academy player they will go full irrational. They will keep demanding that that young player is given more playing time in the first team.

    From the top of my head I can remember some of these players:
    Nketiah
    Nelson
    Willock
    Balogun
    Patino
    Cozier-duberry
    Omari Hutchinson
    Chido Martin Obi
    Etc…

    Now it’s Nwaneri etc.. He is a talent and has potential. But I do think that some people just to get overly anxious / preoccupied by the fairytale scenarios they draw in their head regarding these youngsters all the time. More than 90% never make it or will not make it to this fantasy world that we as fans continually draw in our heads.

    Let the managers decide as they are the ones that watch them everyday in training… 🤞

  6. From what I have seen,Nwaneri is something special who has the potential to make a lasting impact for Arsenal as an attacking midfielder or as a winger.Lewis Skelly does not have the inane talent of Nwaneri and seems to me a central midfielder who has adapted to a left back role in view of injuries to no fewer than 4 senior players who have featured at LB under Arteta.Without wishing to be too disparaging towards the young lad, he is unlikely to make it as a defender, left back as he lacks the pace and physicality required to fulfil such a role in the EPL but let’s hope he can develop into an effective midfielder in the years ahead.Our Manager is of course better placed than any fan as far as developing these two talented youngsters, but I would hope they both get some game time against Preston tomorrow.

  7. The fact that Lewis Skelly came on ahead of Zinchenko and Viera went out on loan instead of Nwaneri is a statement of intent by Arteta. However, patience is required, they should not be cast as the potential saviors of the injury crisis at their peril. They will get their chances this season. Not every junior is as robust as Saka, let’s not forget Wilshire. Patience, all in good time.

  8. Personally I think that on merit,Ethan should be playing more for the team than Lewis because he has shown undoubtedly that he is a quality player.
    I actually think that one reason as to why we drew with Liverpool was the introduction of Lewis.He has no experience, no pace,no physical built.How do you expect such a young boy to handle Salah?
    We had Declan,Merino and even Havertz who can all play at the back.
    Just bring on Jorginho in mid,Declan drops in C.b with white,then Kiwior Martials the L.b as we see off the match. Am certain we would have held on to our win.If the boy has to play let us experiment with this carabao and some cameos in matches we have assured our win.
    Sometimes I feel so let down by Artetas decisions.

  9. I’d love to see more of their involvement, especially Ethan in particular, considering the fact we have the skiper out injured with no other natural replacement except him.
    He was so unlucky against Liverpool when the ball bounced off his path, I’m sure he would have put it away with his wand of a left foot had things gone his way.

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