Following a rare start for Ethan Nwaneri against Portsmouth on Sunday, Mikel Arteta explained why the midfielder hasn’t been playing more often lately.
Arsenal 18-year-old Ethan Nwaneri made just his fourth start of the season on Sunday, featuring in the lineup for an FA Cup tie away to Portsmouth.
The Gunners had won all three previous matches with Nwaneri starting, beating Slavia Praha in the Champions League and Port Vale and Brighton in the League Cup, and the Portsmouth tie kept that 100% run going.
By the time Nwaneri came off in the 69th minute, Arsenal were already 3-1 up, with the match finishing 4-1.
Given things seem to go well when Nwaneri plays, it’s perhaps surprising he’s still yet to make a Premier League start, and that he even dropped out of the lineup in the League Cup for the quarter-final against Crystal Palace.
Speaking after the Portsmouth tie, Mikel Arteta explained that Nwaneri’s limited minutes are simply a case of Arsenal having such strong options at the moment. But he did add that Nwaneri made a good case for himself on this occasion.
“He deserved that (chance),” Arteta said. “Because of the strength of the squad and the players that are in the positions, he hasn’t been able to play. Today he’s done it, and I think he had some very good minutes.”
There’s been some speculation that perhaps the reason why Nwaneri is behind other players in the pecking order is that he’s not always as switched on out of possession.
The teenager can undoubtedly finish chances, and he can be a good creator when he’s in form as well. But winning the ball back has never been one of the foremost facets of his game.
If Nwaneri wants to convince Arteta he should be starting more often, perhaps it’s just as important that he’s up to the task physically as technically. From that point of view, winning a couple of tackles and the majority of his duels against Portsmouth was positive.
As long as Arsenal are competing in four competitions, the opportunities should come eventually. Nwaneri just needs to keep taking them.