Mikel Arteta shares what new position he’s thinking of changing Ethan Nwaneri to at Arsenal

Arsenal have made quite a name for themselves in recent years when it comes to giving youth a chance.

For instance, Bukayo Saka has come through the ranks at Arsenal♊ to become one of the best players in the country.

🌄Meanwhile, the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson were also solid Arsenal squad players and are still playing in the Premier League.

More recently, a new generation of Arsenal talents is coming through, with the likes of Ethan Nwaneri🌠 and Myles Lewis-Skelly making waves in the senior setup.

ဣNwaneri is now on 14 appearances for Arsenal this season, coming on for Martin Odegaard in the 0-0 draw with Everton.

Mikel Artetaܫ, speaking ahead of the Carabao Cup quarter-final meeting with Crystal Palace, shared an intriguing plan he has for Nwaneri.

READ MORE: 🅺Arsenal become favourites to sign the new Paul Pogba who has the same agents as William Saliba

Mikel Arteta says Ethan Nwaneri could go on to play at centre-forward

🅘Arteta, speaking to the Arsenal media team, said he thinks Nwaneri could be developed into a centre-forward.

ඣThe 17-year-old has primarily played as a right-sided attacking midfielder this season, but Arteta was eager to highlight his versatility.

𒈔Asked whether Nwaneri and Odegaard could play together, Arteta said: “Depending on who they are surrounded with and which position, Ethan can play as a right attacking midfielder, left attacking midfielder, as a right winger and there is another position he can develop into in a few years time.”

💙When asked for further details, the Arsenal manager said: “Nine. He’s got the goal in front of him and he just looks at the goal. He has a tremendous ability to put the ball in the back of the net.”

How versatile is Nwaneri?

🐻This season alone, Nwaneri has played as a central midfielder, an attacking midfielder, and as a right winger for Arsenal.

ဣAnd during his time at Hale End and at the Emirates Stadium, Nwaneri has also played at centre-forward and on the left wing.

🌜Over the years, Arsenal coaches have been looking to play Nwaneri in different areas to support his development.

ℱTwo years ago, Arsenal Under-21s boss Mehmet Ali told : “I believe playing as a pocket player, who can hold his position in a pocket, sometimes coming deeper or wider but really understanding that role is important for him. He has played in different areas to support his development.”

♛Ali continued: “With Ethan, we’ve done a lot of work on his positioning, game understanding and scoring goals.

꧃“Sometimes he gets drawn to always going towards the ball. That’s because he’s good at manipulating it.

♔“But if you watch our first team, they’re very clever and have a lot of trust to hold their positions.

🀅“At times you have to move and rotate, but there are also times where you need to be patient and hold.

🧜“What we do on the training pitch is create scenarios where he gets to practise against mannequins, smaller numbers and when he’s with the first team.”

Nwaneri has earned many plaudits over the years, with 🔥Gary Neville calling the Arsenal gem “really gifted” and “special”🥀, and it’ll be exciting to see how he continues to develop.