Arsenal talent Ethan Nwaneri made history in the Premier League when he was brought on as a late substitute by Mikel Arteta in the 3-0 win against Brentford.
Nwaneri became the youngest ever player to make an appearance in the English top-flight, taking the record off of current under-18s head coach Jack Wilshere. The 15-year-old has recently stepped up into Wilshere's team after showing impressive development in the infamous Hale End Academy system.
Nwaneri's involvement off the bench means that 82 of Arsenal's last 200 first-team debutants have been products of the Gunners' Academy. Arteta has shown, with the transfer strategy implemented by technical director Edu, that he wants to give youth a chance to flourish in his team and this is highlighted by the north London outfit having the youngest side in the Premier League with an average age of 23.6 years old, as per Transfermarkt.
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Arsenal academy manager Per Mertesacker and Wilshere discussed the impact Nwaneri's debut has had on the academy and praised the club for continuing to offer a clear pathway for young talents to reach the senior team. Speaking to the official Arsenal website, Mertesacker said: “Mikel gave everyone a powerful message.
"I have to say how much it trickled down. I’ve seen videos of the under-9, under-10 squads cheering Ethan on at Hale End when he came on. Players that would start the same journey as he did, in the grassroots academy, were cheering him on.
"So all of a sudden he has been escalated to be a role model and a positive influence for young players. It’s just brilliant to see, that’s what we are proud of, that we can show progression, that we can show pathways. It was a very proud moment, first of all for himself and his family. It’s a reflection as well of what this club is about, what the academy is about.
“A lot of youngsters entering the academy have the dream of playing for Arsenal Football Club and he made that dream come true. It was a proud moment for us as an academy.”
Wilshere's will get the chance to work closely with Nwaneri as part of the under-18s team and echoed Mertesacker's praise for the club and player. The former Arsenal midfielder said: “We need to give a lot of credit to everyone at Hale End.
“Everyone that’s helped him [Nwaneri] and supported him over the years. There are some people who are really proud, and I’m one of them, but I’ve been around for a couple of months, and a little bit last season. So let’s thank everyone down at Hale End for their support and their hard work. Now he’s part of my team, one of my players, so I will give him all the support and guidance he needs."
Wilshere has made the step up from the academy into the senior team before and is the perfect coach to guide Nwaneri in his development as he targets more involvements in Arteta's squad. The Arsenal under-18s head coach added: “One thing that I learnt pretty quickly - maybe not quickly enough but looking back now I realise it - is there are a lot of people at the club who have his best interests at heart.
“He has to listen to them. He has to somehow block out the noise. I know he has a good family around him, which was important in my case as well. Keep his feet on the ground. But he is the type of kid that will do that. He’s a really driven boy.
"I think that [giving young players a chance] is part of the tradition of Arsenal Football Club. It was a big day for the whole club and hopefully we can use it as inspiration for the boys at Hale End, but also for the boys here who get to experience training every day and trying to push with our first team.”
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