Arsenal news: Mikel Arteta has come under fire for introducing a new Arsenal youngster in the latest English Premier League game.
Mikel’s arrival at the club has helped many young players from the academy grow and he made headlines by giving 15-year-old Arsenal prospect Ethan Nwaneri his Premier League debut.
This incident gets mixed reviews, with former Anfield player Danny Murphy criticizing Arteta’s approach to managing his new youngster. Murphy believes all the media spotlight will cause problems in the development of this young talent.
Nwaneri’s name was on the squad for the match against Brentford. This was Arteta’s first game after facing defeat to the Red Devils, which was the Gunners’ first Premier League game this season.
Arsenal News: Ethan Nwaneri v Brentford
The London club defeated Brentford 3-0 in style to regain their top spot in the Premier League table. All the goals came from William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira.
But the surprise came when the 15-year-old Nwaneri came off the bench in stoppage time. This young prospect has become the youngest player to feature in Premier League history.
Although Arteta insists Nwaneri “deserved” this moment, Murphy disagrees with the Arsenal manager. In his opinion, Nwaneri should have stayed out of the public eye. He will develop better quietly. This trick by Arteta may cause more harm than good in the youngster’s football career.
While speaking to talkSPORT, Danny Murphy spoke, “I’ve seen superstars come onto the scene at a young age and thrive and carry on, but there have also been many who have fallen by the wayside.”
Murphy is optimistic that Nwaneri can become “a super talent” in the future. But he believes “other 18, 19 and 20 year olds” should have had the opportunity. As he thinks Arteta is “trying to keep a young superstar happy.”
Arsenal news: Arteta on Ethan Nwaneri
On the other hand, Arteta has other thoughts on his mind. He revealed that he planned the young attacking midfielder’s debut match in advance.
Arteta was watching the player, as he trained with the senior team on a couple of occasions. And the manager was waiting for the perfect opportunity to introduce him to her.
Some of Arsenal’s players will miss games with injury problems, and they only have a few midfielders left from the reserve team.
On Sunday, the Spanish coach said: “He deserves it. He has been doing very well. He is such a great talent that we want to keep him with us.”
The upcoming match is very important for both Arteta and his men as they will be competing against arch-rivals Spur in the next fixture at their home stadium.
