The Premier League’s new youngest ever player aged 15 years and 181 days, Ethan Nwaneri, earned his historic moment after training with Arsenal’s first team on Saturday and a brilliant start to the season with their academy, scoring four goals and setting up five more in just 10 games.Youngster of Nigerian descent made his under-18s debut aged 14 in May 2021, and his under-21 bow also well ahead of schedule earlier this month.’It was a pure gut feeling. When I met him, when I look at him, I had that feeling. I really liked what I saw.’, Mikel Arteta said.’Per Mertesacker and the academy staff are giving me really good information, Edu as well. I met him, he’s trained a couple of times with us. ‘Yesterday he had to come because we have injuries, especially the injury of Martin (Odegaard), and then I had that feeling from yesterday that if the opportunity could come that I was going to do it and I just (did) it.’I told him yesterday that he was going to be with us and that I want him to experience how it is to be in the hotel, to do a preparation of the game to be around the boys and that he had to be ready. ‘If you’re going to be on that bench you have to be ready. The boy just looks in your eyes and he’s ready. [When he was coming on I said] just congratulations and enjoy.’Full control! Rampant Gunners take the top spot after battering the BeesThe teenager only had one touch, which was loudly cheered by the away end, but his appearance was long enough to allow Arsenal fans to sing ‘he’s got school in the morning’, thus annoying the away fans.Arteta continued talking about the instinct that led him to make such a move.’All the decisions that we take and that I take are for the club. It’s not for me, it’s not for the player, it’s because we believe that he has a talent that has to be developed incredibly in the next two or three years. ‘We will see how we manage that but the boy will dictate. Normally it’s not us, normally the players tell you and demand of you how far you can go on that.”It sends a strong message about who we are as a club. That we want to give opportunities when there is talent, when there is personality and when there are players who love what they do so much and when they have no fear. The doors are open to explore where they can go.’Mikel Arteta has received glowing recommendations from even before Nwaneri, at the age of 14, played four age groups up & scored on his debut for Arsenal’s U18s in May last year. Nwaneri has been coached by Granit Xhaka & will not get a scholarship until aged 16. [@garyjacob] pic.twitter.com/Dki0pdS8Ug— afcstuff (@afcstuff) September 18, 2022 A string of records fell with Nwaneri stepping out on the Emirates grass – a reminder that he was born a year the stadium itself was built.Nwaneri became Arsenal’s youngest ever Premier League player, a record held by Jack Wilshere (16 years and 256 days), and the youngest player in any competition. Before Sunday that was Cesc Fabregas, who made his first team debut aged 16 years and 177 days. Harvey Elliott was previously the Premier League’s youngest ever player aged 16 years and 30 days when he made his Fulham debut.Nwaneri is also the first player born in 2007 to feature in any of Europe’s top five leagues.As far as Gunners ambitions go – the Spaniard holds nothing back. He is not shying away from talk of Arsenal being among the teams in contention to win the league.‘You can ask me every day. Today we are top of the league, I am so happy. Yesterday I was so annoyed because we lost it and we used that to want to get back there and show that we want to be there’, he said.Mikel Arteta brings on Ethan Nwaneri, who becomes the youngest player in Premier League history at 15 years and 180 days old. He was born in March 2007, three days after Mikel Arteta beat Arsenal as a player while at Everton. 👶🔴#Arsenal • #BREARS pic.twitter.com/AJuQkbxWHy— The Coaches’ Voice (@CoachesVoice) September 18, 2022 ‘That is what we are going to do – push to be the best we can be. That is the aim. The table won’t lie after 38 games normally.’‘A lot of people described last season here as a bad day, an embarrassing day, I looked at it as a good building character day. You want to become a different team, you have to learn from those moments and you have to go through those moments and then days like today happen which everyone is really happy in the dressing room with the way we played. We are enjoying our football and it is another step.’
