With Martin Odegaard’s injury on international duty, Mikel Arteta had a choice to make about Ethan Nwaneri.
The midfielder has still never made a start for Arsenal, and the sum total of his senior minutes was just 14 ahead of Sunday’s game, away to Tottenham Hotspur.
Yet with Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira gone, Arteta was lacking experienced alternatives to Odegaard. Could he afford to use Nwaneri in a game of this magnitude?
Speaking about the possibility ahead of the match, former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas suggested that Arteta wouldn’t just throw Nwaneri on for the sake of it. He’d only use the teenager if he felt he was ready for it.
“I have no doubts if Mikel puts him in the starting 11 or even during the game, it’s because he’s seen that he’s good enough to make an impact,” Fabregas said.
“Obviously, the consequences of Rice and Odegaard being out makes it a little bit faster than maybe what he would have liked.
“If he’s part of the squad, it’s because he [Arteta] really believes he can bring something to the table.”
In the end, Nwaneri did come on at a crucial point in the game, playing the last 10 minutes as a replacement for Bukayo Saka with Arsenal just 1-0 up. And he made the most of those minutes.
The youngster’s touch was that of a seasoned pro on a couple of occasions, helping the team to get up the pitch and keeping his head to play smart passes.
Nwaneri’s late block on a shot by Heung-min Son showed he was also willing to work out of possession to get the result across the line.
As Fabregas points out, if Arteta trusts Nwaneri enough to throw him on late in a north London derby, it’s because he believes he can handle it. On this occasion, the teenager proved him right
