Dropped points against West Ham and Nottingham Forest have seen the wheels come off the Gunners’ Premier League title charge, with Arsenal now trailing runaway leaders Liverpool by 13 points.
Bereft of attacking options after injuries to Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, Arteta’s side have looked toothless in attack having managed just three shots on target in their last two games.
Nominally a central midfielder, Mikel Merino has led the line following his goalscoring cameo against Leicester City, but the Spaniard has failed to provide the same attacking threat in subsequent games.
Arsenal have little time to find solutions to their striking woes, with their Champions League last-16 first leg against PSV Eindhoven coming up on Tuesday.
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But former Gunners winger Pennant believes that a subtle change to deploy Nwaneri more centrally could provide a quick-fix solution for Arteta.
‘I think he might have to think outside the box again. Drawing blanks in two consecutive games is not like Arsenal,’ Pennant told Metro.
Arsenal Training Session
Mikel Arteta has deployed Mikel Merino as a striker in recent weeks
‘They’ve got talented players who can put the ball in the back of the net but I wonder if he’ll try Nwaneri down the middle next.
‘He’s got the pace to get in behind and that trickery that a defensive midfielder in Mikel Merino is going to offer you. He’s not going to get the ball and drop his shoulder and go past a defender but Ethan can do that superbly.
‘For me, I would play someone with a bit more flair and pace who likes to run at defenders. It’s all good brining on Merino when he scores two late goals like he did against a struggling Leicester team, but to do that in the Champions League is a different thing altogether.’
Nwaneri has enjoyed a breakthrough season at the Emirates this year, notching up seven goals in all competitions as he enjoys a far more prominent role given the many injuries within Arsenal’s ranks.
Pennant was equally impressed by Nwaneri’s development and is confident the 17-year-old will only go from strength to strength in Arteta’s side.
‘He’s taken to it amazingly,’ he added. ‘Since he’s been in and replaced Saka, he’s been one of their star players. That’s full credit to himself and his professionalism.
‘At that age, you have no fear. He’s 17 so there’s not a lot of expectation on his shoulders – you look to the senior players for that – so he’s going into games with that freedom.
‘He’s allowed to have a bad game because he’s still growing and learning.
‘When you have that on your side, it’s so much easier to express yourself and that’s what we’ve seen. The more he does that, the more confident he’s going to get.’
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