Former Arsenal star Kevin Campbell has defended Mikel Arteta's decision to hand a debut to youngster Ethan Nwaneri in last weekend's 3-0 victory over Brentford. It comes after the Spaniard received criticism for making the decision to bring him off the bench to make an appearance in injury time.
In doing so, the 15-year-old broke the record for the youngest ever player to feature in the top division, for both the Division One and Premier League eras. The attacking midfielder's inclusion came after a few injuries in the squad left Arteta light on options he could choose from.
Having included him in first-team training, the manager admitted that his inclusion in the matchday was down to a feeling he had. However, TalkSport pundit Jason Cundy didn't agree with the decision, going on to blast the manager by saying: "“Arteta doesn’t care about the boy [Nwaneri].
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“I think that’s a really poor decision. It’s about Arteta, all about Arteta. The manager that played the youngest ever player in the Premier League is me’. I think that’s self-indulgent. I think it’s irresponsible. What’s Arteta going to do next week? Pick a 14-year-old? I’m deadly serious here.”
However, the aftermath of this, Campbell quickly took to Twitter to defend the Arsenal boss, saying: "What am I hearing here? Cut the crap Jason, of course he cares about the young lad!
"Ethan Nwaneri has been doing great in the academy and made history in the PL! Not a big problem whatsoever until now Arsenal and Arteta do it!"
It's not the first and won't be the last time Arteta has faced criticism for a decision as Arsenal boss, with his determination to continue following his path and long-term project at the club.
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