Flash forward to February 2020 and the teenager is playing in attack for Arsenal’s Under-14s away to West Ham. Storm Ciara had been battering the UK all week and the youth team players on the pitch were placed in uncharted territory – but a 12-year-old Nwaneri would not be thrown away. “He was from the under-13s, he was playing in the age group above – even then he was one of the best players in that group,” a Premier League scout who watched that game tells Sky Sports. “The conditions were terrible – it was really windy and raining and it’s usually difficult to assess these players in that environment. But I picked out things like his body language, his character and the way he reacted to the conditions. He scored in that game and has an eye for goals, but he really wanted to be involved in the pre-season game and had good control of the ball.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player Arsenal’s Ethan Nuaneri has become the youngest player to play in the Premier League, surpassing the previous record held by Fulham’s Harvey Elliott. Now Nwaneri is the most talked-about teenager in English football – after his brief appearance for Arsenal in their 3-0 win over Brentford on Super Sunday made him the youngest player in Premier League history at the age of 15 years and 181 days . The midfielder spent three minutes on the west London pitch and didn’t touch the ball, but the experience of football was there for a player who was born after the Emirates Stadium was built – and was 12 when the UK went into the first lockdown for coronavirus. Playing in an older age group has been the way of the world for the attacking midfielder so far. Those familiar with his rise in youth football have seen him play above his age group from under-13 level. “When I saw him it was a different sauce,” adds the same scout. “I first spotted him when I was working at other Premier League clubs when he was playing for Arsenal’s under-13s as an 11-year-old. “But it was a few years later – when I was watching him as a scout for Manchester United – that he had developed into what we call an A-Grade Academy player. Image: Nwaneri has been playing above his age group for several years “I would have marked him as a United signing if it was mine, but trying to get a player from a Division One academy team to another is difficult. “Even when he was about 12 or 13, you could see he was the pick of the team, the best player on the pitch – even for the age group above. Every time he got on the ball, he was looking to do. He was always a threat, he took set-pieces and made good deliveries with them.” Managers at Arsenal have continued to play him above his age group, but his rise over the past 12 months has been nothing short of dramatic. Last season, he was a regular for Arsenal’s U16s aged 14, but made his first start for the U18s in February this year. The teenager made an immediate impact, notching two assists in a 4-2 win over Reading U18s as his Arsenal stock rose even further. Image: 15-year-old Ethan Nwaneri (left) becomes the youngest player ever to appear in the Premier League “He’s someone who’s been thought of a lot here, as there are other boys at the Hale End,” Under-18s coach Dan Micciche said after that game. “I trusted him to play today and he got two assists. Knowing him, he’s going to leave here disappointed that he hasn’t scored or misplaced a few passes because he has that champion mentality.” The phrase ‘championship mentality’ often comes up when an Arsenal youth product comes through the ranks to the first team. The same stint was given to Bukayo Saka by an Arsenal scout when the winger was with the Gunners’ Under-9s. And one wonders if it was this mentality that influenced Mikel Arteta’s “gut feeling” before the Arsenal first-team manager brought Nwaneri on against Brentford, just weeks after the player played Under-21 football for the first time. “The first time I met him, I looked into his eyes and I had this feeling. I really liked what I saw,” Arteta said after giving Nwaneri his debut. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reacts after his side’s 3-0 win at Brentford “[Academy manager] Per Mertesacker and the academy staff give me very good information, [sporting director] Edu too.” Arsenal’s first team are also noticing something special – none more so than midfielder Granit Xhaka, who has coached Nwaneri’s under-16 side recently as the Gunners vice-captain works on his coaching marks. “He looks old when I see him, but the club can be proud of a player like him,” Xhaka said after Arsenal’s win at Brentford. “You can see a big difference with him and the other guys. He is very, very special. Image: Granit Xhaka (right) coached Nwaneri at Arsenal U16s as part of his coaching training “Obviously you have to protect him as he’s very young, but if he continues like this with his hard work, he’s got a big, big future.” So what now for Nwaneri? The history books show that the path forward for the Premier League’s youngest players of all time is unclear. The Arsenal teenager took the record from Harvey Elliott, who is now a regular at Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Aaron Lennon is now the fourth youngest player in Premier League history and has spent almost two decades as a Premier League player. But there are also the one-hit wonders like Matthew Briggs, Jose Baxter and Izzy Brown – who have either retired from the game early or are stuck in non-league without making an impact in the Premier League. Which category Nwaneri falls into will be determined in the coming years. Image: Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott was the youngest Premier League player before Nwaneri There is also international recognition. “He’s definitely on our radar,” England Under-21 manager Lee Carsley tells Sky Sports. “He’s a real talent and it’s a fantastic achievement. “When they get a first-team opportunity, it’s different. It’s not a sink-or-swim situation, but we’ve seen players struggle to make that transition from academy football to senior football. They all need time and that experience, so it’s great that Mikel did that.” Meanwhile, Arteta adds: “It’s just one step and not all steps in your career are forward and you have to know that. You can go forward then back and then forward. That’s, unfortunately, this industry and the football career of any player. “All the decisions that we make, that I make, are for the club. It’s not for me, it’s not for the player. It’s because we think he has a talent that should develop incredibly in the next few years and we’ll see how we can do it. ». “I’m sure they have a plan for him,” Arsenal academy product Folarin Balogun, currently on loan at Ligue 1 club Stade de Reims, tells Sky Sports. “There have been a lot of players in the past who started early. [such as] Rhys Nelson and Bucayo, who made his debut when he was 17 years old. I’m sure if he has his head down, he’ll see the plan.” Given the recent success of Saka and Emile Smith Rowe in coming through the Arsenal ranks, Nwaneri appears to be in the right place at the right time.
