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A couple of Arsenal players have fallen victim to Andrea Berta's spending spree in the summer, and Mikel Arteta needs to reshuffle the pack
Ethan Nwaneri suddenly faces a somewhat uncertain future at Arsenal, having fallen down the pecking order. The 18-year-old midfielder signed a long-term contract at the Emirates Stadium in the summer, yet he's been overlooked by Mikel Arteta for much of the season.
Nwaneri has been left out of the matchday squad in each of the Gunners' last three games in the Premier League and has been an unused substitute in the six matches before that. The England Under-21 international hasn't featured in the English top flight since the end of November, coming off the bench for a couple of minutes in the North London Derby.
In fact, he has only started three games across all competitions, with two of which coming in the Carabao Cup and the other coming in the UEFA Champions League. No senior outfielder in Arteta's squad has played fewer minutes than Nwaneri, bar Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz – and they've each just returned from lengthy spells on the sideline.
The teenager looked set for a key role in the first team at the start of the campaign, but he's fallen victim to Arsenal's spending spree. Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke, whom the Gunners signed in the summer for almost £120million, have blocked Nwaneri's path into the starting lineup.
The Arsenal wonderkid will be wondering what on earth he needs to do to win back Arteta's trust. Despite question marks over his future and links away from the Gunners on loan, football.london understands that Nwaneri is not expected to leave this month.
Speaking to reporters at the Sobha Realty Training Centre last week, the Arsenal boss provided an update on the teenager's situation. Arteta said: "Every player is very important, every player has a role.
"That role can change throughout the season for different reasons, and everybody has to be ready to play. And the thing is that you don't know if you're going to be a finisher, a starter, or sometimes you have to come in because a player gets injured in the warm-up.
"So that's how ready you have to be. And again, as I said, it's a joy because the players are really committed, really willing to participate in whatever role they have on the day. And that's what we need."
Arteta knows just how good Nwaneri is; he just needs to take a leap of faith. As does Joe Cole, who once likened the teenager to Lionel Messi in February 2025.
Speaking on TNT Sports after Nwaneri provided an assist in a 2-0 win over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, the Chelsea icon said: "These little touches in and around the box - I don't even want to say it, but it's like Lionel Messi.
"I don't want to put any more pressure on him, but the touches off the back foot entices the defender, then the touch off the toe to send him off balance. He plays with such confidence, a beautiful player.
"Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have to protect him..."
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