There are now whispers that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could actually start a highly-rated 17-year-old starlet in the North London Derby this weekend.
Team news ahead of Tottenham vs Arsenal on Sunday
Their first game back from the international break could hardly be a tougher test, with a trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium awaiting an Arsenal side who are pretty short of numbers right now.
Arteta will be without star player Declan Rice through suspension after the England international picked up two yellow cards in their last Premier League game against Brighton, and he won’t be their only midfield absentee either.
Summer signing Mikel Merino has been sidelined by a shoulder injury, and may not feature for Arsenal until after the October international break. The Spaniard fractured his deltoid after a collision with Gabriel Magalhaes in training at London Colney, with Merino now forced to wait for his full Gunners debut after joining from Real Sociedad.
Arsenal’s next five Premier League games | Date |
|---|---|
Tottenham (away) | September 15 |
Man City (away) | September 22 |
Leicester City (home) | September 28 |
Southampton (home) | October 5 |
Bournemouth (away) | October 19 |
Fellow new recruit Riccardo Calafiori is a doubt for Arsenal’s next game too, after the Italy international sustained a calf injury on international duty against France. The biggest worry of all, though, revolves around club captain Martin Odegaard.
Odegaard looks certain to miss the Tottenham game after he twisted his ankle in Norway’s 2-1 win over Austria on Monday, with supporters now waiting for official confirmation on the severity of his injury.
This series of hammer blows means Arteta is planning to drop Kai Havertz back into midfield, despite the German shining in a makeshift centre-forward role. It is believed Raheem Sterling could make his Arsenal debut this weekend in a false-nine role, but the good news for Arteta is that Gabriel Jesus could be available to play against Tottenham following his comeback from fitness issues.
Arteta could start Arsenal teenager Ethan Nwaneri against Tottenham
As Arteta ponders how best to set up his team in one of their biggest games of the season, BBC journalist Mark Chapman has now shared rumours he’s heard that Arsenal could start teenage talent Ethan Nwaneri against Tottenham on Sunday, which would come as a bold move.
“They have some issues in midfield Arsenal, Declan Rice is suspended, Martin Odegaard picked up an injury during the week, their signing in the summer, Merino is already injured. So there are these rumours that they may start a 17-year-old, Ethan Nwaneri,” said Chapman on the BBC Planet Premier League Podcast, relayed by Caught Offside.
The 17-year-old has played in two Premier League games, first making his debut with a one-minute cameo against Brentford two years ago. Since then, Arteta has handed him the nod on just one other occasion – with the attacker playing 13 minutes during Arsenal’s thumping 6-0 win at West Ham last campaign.
Following Emile Smith Rowe’s £35 million move to Fulham in the summer, journalist Charles Watts has tipped Arsenal to play Nwaneri far more often.
“Ethan Nwaneri is someone Arsenal fans will have been aware of for some time now and he really caught the eye for England Under-17s at this summer’s European Championships,” Watts said to CaughtOffside.
“So what next for the latest homegrown wonderkid to come out of Hale End? I think we’ll see Nwaneri stay at Arsenal next season and become more of a fixture in the first-team. I can’t see him being a regular, but I think we’ll see Mikel Arteta start to give him some minutes to ensure he continues to develop at the rate that Arsenal want him to.
“There are certain players that you look at and think that they can skip going out on loan and move straight into the first-team picture. Bukayo Saka was one and I think Nwaneri is another.
“If Smith Rowe goes, it could be the perfect chance to promote Nwaneri. He’s such a talent and it’s really important that Arsenal leave him a pathway to continue to develop.”
