In his first week on the job at Arsenal, Mikel Arteta summoned Under-16s coach Dan Micciche to his office. The pair exchanged pleasantries in Italian, before Arteta turned to business and said “so, I hear you’ve got a player for me…”
The Spaniard had been told by Edu of a 12-year-old making waves in the Under-16s team and wanted to hear more for himself. Prior to joining Arsenal, Micciche had worked at the FA and used Phil Foden and Cole Palmer as reference points to describe the potential of this versatile pre-teen. With his interest suitably piqued, Arteta asked Micciche to compile a video compilation of the wonderkid. His name: Ethan Nwaneri.
For most, Nwaneri would have popped on to the radar when he became the youngest player in Premier League history 2022. At Arsenal, though, they’ve known they have something special for a lot longer.
After a full season with the Under-16s at just 13-years-old, Nwaneri began playing up at Under-18s level he was 14. This in itself is not always the guarantee of quality it would seem. In such a transformative time of their lives, many players will play up an age group or two if they experience earlier physical development than their peers. With Nwaneri, however, there was another trait which stood out.
