This is according to Danny Murphy, who told talkSPORT that he feels the Arsenal boss should have waited until he felt the youngster was looking like a future first-team regular.
Nwaneri became the youngest ever player to feature in the Premier League with his late cameo in the win over Brentford in September 2022 aged 15 years and 181 days.
That remains Nwaneri’s sole Arsenal first-team appearance to date. There were hopes he would feature against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League, but that wasn’t to be the case.
Had Arteta brought Nwaneri on, the 16-year-old would have overtaken Jack Wilshere to become the club’s youngest player to ever play in a European competition.
However, the midfielder was an unused substitute in Arsenal’s final Champions League group game alongside Lino Sousa and Reuell Walters.
‘Should be for the right reasons’
On talkSPORT, Murphy and his co-hosts were talking about how giving a young player his debut without a clear pathway can cause issues.
This includes getting the player’s hopes up and also drawing attention from other clubs who could then move for him.
He said: “I think it (giving game time to an academy player) should be for the right reasonse
“Which is ‘he’s good enough to be around this and actually in 6 to 12 months he’s going to be around it hell of a lot more so let’s get him used to it’.
“Yeah, that should be the real intention behind it and and I think generally it is. But when you’re putting a 15-year-old into one of the biggest clubs in the country I think you’re creating a problem.”
Arsenal should send Ethan Nwaneri out on loan in January – TBR View
Murphy makes a good point. Nwaneri will no doubt have been disappointed not to get on the pitch in midweek, and the risk is that the player will now start wondering when his next appearance will be.
Nwaneri has been shining at youth level this season, with five goals and two assists from seven outings. He’s looking a cut above at Under-21 level, which is outstanding for a 16-year-old.
Arsenal should probably look to loan him out to an EFL team in January so he can start getting regular first-team experience right away.
The one thing you don’t want to happen if that Nwaneri decides to try his luck elsewhere, another club comes in for him, and Arsenal lose a potential future first-team star.
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