Arsenal talent Ethan Nwaneri has named Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka as the two senior players who have most helped him settle into the Gunners first-team this season.
Nwaneri made history in September 2022 when he made his senior debut aged just 15 years and 181 days, becoming Arsenal’s youngest ever player, as well as the English top flight’s youngest too.
He was so young that Nwaneri didn’t sign his first professional contract until March of this year, but has now become a permanent member of Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad. So far in 2024/25, it’s been 16 appearances and counting for the 17-year-old – including three starts and four goals.
Saka joined Arsenal when he was seven-years-old and made his first-team debut in late 2018, a few weeks after turning 17. The winger was a regular by 18 and has already hit 250 games. Odegaard was even more of a teen prodigy, training with the first-team at Stromsgodset in Norway from the age of 13 and making his debut at 15. A month after turning 16, he joined Real Madrid, having had every leading club across Europe on his tail in a very public transfer pursuit.
