Still, there is clearly a situation building at Arsenal, which will continue to exist until it doesn’t. Nwaneri, an outrageously talented teenager, has less than 12 months left on his contract.
This is partly a question of timing: Nwaneri was away at the Under-21 European Championship and England winning the final means he has a longer break than others before pre-season training begins. It is also not just a question of timing: according to TalkSport, Nwaneri has made demands about guaranteed playing time before agreeing to sign.
Nwaneri, pictured with Myles Lewis-Skelly, joined the academy at the age of eight (Photo: Getty)
Against Manchester City in February, both scored in a 5-1 win that reminded of a 2021 north London derby when Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe both starred. Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly were aged 17 and 18 respectively. These are the new star boys.
Nwaneri has seen that light. He has already become a regular. Only four players scored more goals for Arsenal last season. He has been part of a winning squad at a major age group tournament. On the eve of that tournament, he calmly stated that his five-year goal was to be one of the top three players in the world and eventually win the Ballon d’Or. The boy is not short of ambition; nor should he be.
It is how that agency fits in with Arsenal’s own summer that is most fascinating. Nwaneri is a natural central attacking midfielder, albeit one very comfortable drifting wide and who played on the left for Lee Carsley’s U21s. That is also the position in which his club has the deepest talent pool.
On the right wing, Saka is guaranteed to start but the reported interest in Noni Madueke suggests that Arteta wants another winger. Even if one of Leandro Trossard or Gabriel Martinelli leaves, Madueke might well get minutes off the left (or he would leave Chelsea to be a backup, which seems counterintuitive). Add to all that serious interest in Eberechi Eze, who is surely the closest of all the aforementioned to Nwaneri’s skill set.
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Between Saka’s first start back on 8 April and the final day of the season (when Saka was rested), Nwaneri played only 108 minutes. That may have been Arsenal taking care not to overplay a teenager, but you can see how a seed of doubt can form.
Nwaneri is clearly a key part of that mission. His minutes last season were not a charitable gesture. As with Lewis-Skelly, he earned his place and age is just a number. Ask Arteta now and he will tell you that Nwaneri remains vital to Arsenal’s present and future.
But the balance between pathways and immediate performance, to strengthening the squad without confounding those coming out of Hale End, is one that Arteta and Arsenal must wrestle with. They cannot afford to delay the Nwaneri show; that means regular starts in the principal competitions. For the first time in his nascent career, the balance has shifted: Arsenal need to impress him.
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