Mikel Arteta believes Ethan Nwaneri is most comfortable in central areas, suggesting that’s where Arsenal will now look to develop him.
Arsenal youngster Ethan Nwaneri has split his time pretty evenly between attacking midfield and the right wing since breaking into the Gunners’ first team, but in the early part of the 2025/26 campaign he’s only been used centrally by Mikel Arteta.
Reflecting on Nwaneri’s initial minutes on the right, Arteta suggested on Tuesday that it was a combination of circumstances and an opportunity to develop the youngster’s game out wide.
But the Arsenal boss believes the 18-year-old is at his best in attacking midfield, and he added that the goal now is to focus on one position.
“The context of Bukayo’s injuries and not having a replacement as well opened that opportunity for [Nwaneri] to break in and have a lot of minutes at his age,” Arteta recalled.
“Now that he’s more settled, he’s more stable, more mature, we see him a lot playing inside in both positions, that’s where his biggest threat is. That’s where I think he feels most comfortable as well and he can connect better with teammates.
“But it doesn’t mean that he cannot play wide. He can do it still, but I think now we need to start developing more in one position.”
With Martin Odegaard out injured and the potential for rotation in Wednesday’s League Cup clash against Brighton and Hove Albion, Nwaneri could be set for just his second start of the season.
The goal now is to convince Arsenal’s coaching staff that he should be in the lineup more regularly, particularly when Odegaard is unavailable.
It’s hard to win a spot ahead of the Gunners captain when he’s fit and firing, but Nwaneri needs to convince Arteta he’s the best alternative the rest of the time.