The news that Chelsea are “monitoring” Ethan Nwaneri’s situation at Arsenal should cause a titter. You’re saying that Chelsea, a club who appear intent on signing as many young, talented attacking midfielders and wingers as possible would quite like to sign a young, talented attacking midfielder? More as we get it.
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.
Myles Lewis-Skelly signed a long-term deal in June but Nwaneri hasn’t. In six months he can talk to foreign clubs about leaving on a free transfer, should he choose. This isn’t ideal.
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.
Arsenal could have done little more before now. Nwaneri is both the youngest Premier League player and was the youngest to start more than three Premier League games last season (second was Lewis-Skelly, indicating Arsenal’s faith in youth in general in 2024-25).
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.
Limelight is addictive. Elite footballers sacrifice their childhoods, ask extraordinary amounts of their families, work relentlessly for even a minute chance of playing in the Premier League. When they get there, nothing will ever be enough because careers are short and unpredictable and perfection doesn’t exist. You always want more. You always want better.
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.
This is what we demanded from our young footballers, first to be developed with the technical expertise to match other nations and then to understand their worth and maximise their agency to their own – and ultimately our – advantage. It is a tap that turns on and then keeps on running. Nwaneri holds all the cards.
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.
The arrivals of Christian Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi may afford Declan Rice a little more attacking license – the same is probably true for Mikel Merino. Martin Odegaard has long been Mikel Arteta’s first choice central attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1. The signing of Viktor Gyokeres as a starting striker may well push Kai Havertz into a deeper role; Arteta loves Havertz.
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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There is another niggle here. For all the opportunities that Nwaneri was given last season – more than 1,300 minutes in all competitions – most came when Saka was absent through injury.
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.
This season is Arsenal’s “win now” campaign. Before, progress could be qualified as development; that is no longer the case. The signings of Zubimendi, Norgaard and a central striker (and certainly if Eze arrived too) dictate as much. 2026 will mark six years without a major trophy. That is longer than each of the other Big Six clubs, plus Newcastle United, West Ham and Crystal Palace.
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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