Arsenal hold a “massive excitement” over one unseen teenager in their ranks, alongside fellow rising stars Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, who are making most of the headlines in north London right now.
Ethan Nwaneri scores for Arsenal against Nottingham Forest
Both Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri are enjoying breakthrough campaigns at N5, with manager Mikel Arteta handing both teenagers minutes amid an early season which has been plagued by injuries to first-team stars.
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He’d be a stellar addition to the squad.
Lewis-Skelly, 18, has made six first-team appearances in all competitions – mostly filling in at left-back – with the cameos including one full start against Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup.
“He can play in three positions – as a left-back, as a six, as an eight,” said Arteta on Lewis-Skelly’s versatility earlier this season.
“He’s very adaptable, I think that’s a good thing about Myles. He’s very intelligent, very thorough. And he has a competitive edge that I think is demanded at this level. He really wants it, and we’re going to use him in different positions.
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Arsenal’s next five Premier League games |
Date |
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West Ham United (away) |
November 30 |
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Man United (home) |
December 4 |
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Fulham (away) |
December 8 |
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Everton (home) |
December 14 |
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Crystal Palace (away) |
December 21 |
“He’s a competitor, you look at him in every duel … the way he reacts with his teammates, you speak to him and it’s constantly eye contact, he’s asking questions … it’s a special character.”
While Lewis-Skelly is attracting praise from Arteta, the same can definitely be said for Nwaneri, who’s bagged four goals in nine appearances across all competitions this term.
He scored his first Premier League goal on Saturday, during Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, and the 17-year-old appears to be establishing himself as Hale End’s latest Gunners sensation.
“The first thing he does is take a touch, run forward, run past two players and put it inches away from the post,” said Arteta on Nwaneri’s attacking threat.
“I understand that, I am responsible for him, and you have to do that brick by brick. Today he put in another brick, now we have to put the cement, make sure that it doesn’t get dry, so that he can put in another one and another one and that one is going to stick. Then we put one more layer, we want to put five in a row. Believe me, it won’t work, and we have to manage that with his expectations and his load as well, which is really important.”
Nwaneri has already been called Arsenal’s next £100m star in the making, but the English gem may have some competition already.
Arsenal hold “massive excitement” over Max Dowman
According to Football Transfers, yet another teenager could be about to burst through the youth ranks. Arsenal apparently hold “massive excitement” over young midfielder Max Dowman. The 14-year-old, who turns 15 next month, is already being compared to AC Milan legend Kaka within the club, and he’s set to play alongside senior players in a behind-closed-doors friendly.
The match is being organised in two weeks’ time, and it is specifically being arranged to assess Dowman, Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri.
Dowman recently became the youngest-ever Arsenal player to feature for the Under-18s, with FT sources describing the Englishman as an “insane” footballer.
