Ethan Nwaneri made Premier League history at the weekend after becoming the youngest player to feature in England's top-flight division, aged 15 years and 181 days old. Introduced from the bench late on against Brentford on Sunday, Nwaneri overtook Liverpool's Harvey Elliott, who previously held the record at 16 years and 30 days when he played for Fulham back in 2019.
Speaking after the game, Mikel Arteta explained his decision to bring on the Hale End product, citing the player's impressive attitude in training. "It was a pure gut feeling. I met the boy (and) really liked what I saw," he said. "Per Mertesacker and the academy staff are giving me really good information, Edu as well. I met him, he’s trained a couple of times with us. Yesterday he had to come because we have injuries."
Granit Xhaka was also asked about Nwaneri's cameo and whilst he admitted that he is a special talent, the vice-captain emphasised the importance of protecting him at such a young age. "To have a guy who is fifteen, who is fifteen years younger than me…he looks old when I see him but the club can be proud of a player like him," Xhaka said.
