Arsenal youngster Ethan Nwaneri broke a Premier League and division one record on Sunday when he became the youngest player in the competition's history to make an appearance. At 15-years-and-181-days old, the midfielder joined the first-team squad after a myriad of injuries.
With a thin squad at his disposal, Mikel Arteta had to turn to his youth ranks to be able to fill his options for the clash with Brentford. After three goals and a seemingly comfortable performance, the Spaniard decided in stoppage time to give him a taste of the action.
On making the switch, he said afterwards: "It was a pure gut feeling. I met the boy (and) really liked what I saw. Per Mertesacker and the academy staff are giving me really good information, Edu as well. I met him, he’s trained a couple of times with us.
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"Yesterday he had to come because we have injuries, especially the injury of Martin (Odegaard), and then I had that feeling from yesterday that if the opportunity could come that I was going to do it and I just done it. It’s another step, another experience.
"In your career all the steps are not going to be forward. After that maybe he needs three backwards to go another forward, but I think he deserved it. It sends a really strong message about who we are as a club as well."
Given the drastic rise to such exposure, the experience could be a daunting one at a young age. However, it appears as though one first-team star gave some help and some mentorship to get him through the early introduction.
That's because, according to the Times, Granit Xhaka took the attacking midfielder under his wing to aid his development. It shows the leadership role the Swiss midfielder has at the club, even if he is no longer the captain.
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