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Nwaneri is the creative spark Arsenal need in Odegaard’s absence

It didn’t take long for Ethan Nwaneri to justify the hype around him. Within seconds of his introduction off the bench against Leicester City on Saturday, the 17-year-old was driving Arsenal forward to a dramatic victory secured by two stoppage time goals. Nwaneri was the catalyst for an important win.

Nwaneri has been spoken about as a wonderkid for a while. The teenager made an impression for Arsenal in pre-season and had featured in matches against Tottenham Hotspur and Bolton, but the game against Leicester was the first time he’d truly demonstrated his quality. Nwaneri is ready to contribute.

That is especially true with Martin Odegaard currently sidelined through injury. The Norwegian has missed Arsenal’s last five matches after sustaining an ankle injury while on international duty with Norway last month and is expected to be unavailable for another few weeks. Odegaard’s injury threatened to derail the Gunners’ entire season.

In Odegaard’s absence, though, Nwaneri is the creative spark Arsenal need to keep moving forward, to keep their title challenge alive until the club captain is back. The 17-year-old might not be ready to start every match for the Gunners, but there’s no doubt he can give Mikel Arteta another option. He can provide Arsenal with a different dimension.

Against Leicester City, Nwaneri showed his various traits. He is an excellent ball carrier. He can dribble past an opponent. He can shoot from distance, as he proved by drawing a diving save from Mads Hermansen. He can pass and create, but most impressive is Nwaneri’s natural confidence for someone so young. He looked the part on the Emirates Stadium pitch.

Arsenal have come through a testing period to start the 2024/25 season. The Gunners have faced Aston Villa, Brighton, Tottenham and Manchester City in their first six league fixtures of the new campaign with matches against Liverpool, Newcastle United and Chelsea coming over the next few weeks.

Injuries are a part of the game, but Odegaard looked to be the one player in the Arsenal squad who would be irreplaceable in the event of his unavailability. The midfielder is the Gunners’ creator-in-chief and Arteta is almost certainly counting down the days until his return over the next month or so.

As a contingency plan, though, Nwaneri looks to be a good option and the teenager should receive more game time over the course of the 2024/25 season. He could feature against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday night. This could be another opportunity for Nwaneri to prove his talent.

It’s even possible that Nwaneri could feature in the same midfield unit as Odegaard when he returns from injury. The teenager is a natural ball carrier while Odegaard is a creator in possession. With Declan Rice, Thomas Partey or Mikel Merino as the anchor, the balance could be right for Arteta to use them together.

Arsenal have a long history of giving a platform to academy graduates. Bukayo Saka is the best example of this in recent times with the 23-year-old one of the best wingers in the world at this moment in time. William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli didn’t come through the academy, but they too have been embraced as young players.

Arteta has reshaped Arsenal in his own image and Nwaneri represents the next generation coming through the system at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners expect more youngsters to emerge from the academy over the coming years, but Nwaneri is already making his breakthrough into the first team. Far from being someone purely for the future, he could deliver a lot in the present too.