Rabiot, 29, has been available since leaving Juventus in July, and a host of Premier League teams were reputedly reminded of his availability recently. The former Manchester City player reputedly wanted a return to England this summer, but that will seemingly not materialise.
He arrived in southern France on Monday night before completing a move to the Ligue 1 club despite spending almost a decade at their rivals Paris Saint-Germain after being born in the capital's suburbs. Rabiot made over 200 appearances for PSG across seven seasons, winning Ligue 1 five times before moving to Serie A.
With those three plus Declan Rice unavailable for their trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, he had Nwaneri replace Bukayo Saka when the winger could not continue. While substitutes Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling were already on the pitch, Arteta overlooked Jakub Kiwior, who is vastly more experienced and has previously played in defensive midfield for Spezia in Serie A.
Instead, he handed the 17-year-old his third Premier League appearance and first of the season. The cameo came on the back of playing a trio of times for England under-19s, with the midfielder scoring two goals and assisting another.
Nwaneri has now made the matchday squad for all four games. And there are no signs of that changing anytime soon, at least for the next month while Merino remains on the sidelines.
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