Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta urges patience with Ethan Nwaneri as he points to key statistic amid wonderkid's lack of minutes

Nwaneri famously made his Arsenal debut as a 15-year-old but last season was his breakout one for the Gunners. After scoring in his team's Carabao Cup win over Preston North End in October 2024, Arteta waxed lyrical about the academy star. 

He told reporters: "He’s a big talent, he’s got the right attitude, he’s got the right players and context around him and we need to make sure that we put brick by brick in the right tempo, in the right order, but we have some player there. He’s going to really dictate how fast that’s going to go, but I’m really, really happy with him. There’s so much personality there. He wants to impose himself, he wants every ball, he wants to make things happen. Outside around the boy, he’s still a bit quiet, as is usual for a 17-year-old. But he’s very respectful, his work ethic is tremendous and he loves what he does, you can tell that. I think he is showing every day what he is capable of. You see his teammates, they are giving him the ball all the time, that’s a great sign. So we have some player there."

As Arsenal were hit by a raft of injuries last season, especially in attack, attacking midfielder Nwaneri had to play on the right wing on multiple occasions, something that was outside his comfort zone. 

Back in April, he admitted: "It’s been tough adapting to [right wing]. If the manager asks, you have to do it to the highest level. It’s been hard, it’s been up and down, but I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve played as a ten my whole life. But, I can play striker as well."

The England Under-21 international also revealed it is a steep learning curve when it comes to working under manager Arteta.

He said in June: "There’s a lot to learn from Mikel (Arteta). If you ever met him, you’d see how intense he is. How he’s so good with his words and he knows what he’s saying. He’s elevated my game, definitely. There’s so much, not even just tactically but mentally too. On a personal level, he’s helped me a lot. He’s really big on body language and the way that he presents himself. He puts that onto me. Before, maybe the way that I’d walk or slouch a bit or just the way I’d be sitting, he’s onto everything. That’s helped me just sharpen up in my mind and it’s helped me a lot."

Nwaneri racked up 37 appearances for Arsenal last season, scoring nine goals and adding two assists. This campaign, however, he has played 11 times, scoring one goal, and just three of those have been in the starting XI. Despite his lack of minutes, Arteta referenced the fact that he has already played 50 games for the north London outfit.

The Spaniard told reporters on Friday: "Ethan’s attitude on that is exceptional, He wants to train and he wants to be outside and he wants to be in touch with that ball. In that sense, he’s top. In the same manner that other players have to cope with this kind of situation, preparing in the best possible way, I think he’s doing it. His attitude has been excellent and when he’s got the chance to play, prove that I’m wrong, that he needs to play more minutes and help the team as much as possible."

When asked how he has explained the situation to Nwaneri, Arteta replied: "Probably, by looking at where he is. He’s 18 years old [and has] 50 appearances for the club. I want to see how many examples there are in English football with that number at that age. That’s a reality, that’s not if, if, if, that’s a reality. So if somebody were to tell him, any of us, two years ago, that number with the squad that we have, probably we would go, it doesn’t sound very realistic."

Nwaneri will hope to get some more game time for table-topping Arsenal when they host Premier League basement team Wolves on Saturday night. But with Eberechi Eze and Martin Odegaard ahead of him in the pecking order, he will have to be patient.