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Arsenal academy manager Per Mertesacker has heaped praise on teenager Ethan Nwaneri following his first-team debut against Brentford prior to the international break.
Mertesacker believes that a first-team debut at the age of 15 was the right step following Nwaneri's impressive stints with underage levels in the youth system. According to the former Arsenal defender, the youngster deserved his chance to prove his development in the first-team.
Speaking on the club's official YouTube channel (via Metro), Mertesacker was quoted as saying the following:
"Ethan has been a part of the pre-academy, he has been around football since he was five years old, then he came to our academy as an under nine. It’s about knowing the boy, knowing the family, having close contacts.
"Especially with this example, it will test us but we’re ready for it and Ethan was on the pitch because he deserves it."
He added:
"He went through all of our age groups and ticks a lot of boxes. He played fabulous with the U18s and deserved to be training with the U21s. He’s a humble guy and he’s so focused and he’s now made the next step up."
Nwaneri became the youngest player in Premier League history when he came off the bench in injury-time during the Gunners' 3-0 win against Brentford. He was a mere 15 years and 181 days old when he made his debut, replacing Fabio Vieira in the closing minutes at the Brantford Community Stadium.
Nwaneri was born in March 2007. According to the aforementioned source, the midfielder had just one training session with the first team, which came a day before Arsenal's game against Brentford.
Arsenal have had a great start to the 2022-23 Premier League season
Arsenal have made an excellent start to the 2022-23 season and are currently top of the Premier League charts.
After seven games, the Gunners have amassed 18 points in the league. They have won six games and have suffered one defeat, which came against Manchester United at Old Trafford last month.
At the time of writing, Arteta's side are a point clear of Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, both of whom are currently unbeaten in the Premier League.
Arsenal narrowly missed out on a place in this season's UEFA Champions League after finishing fifth in the Premier League last time around. They will look to return to the top four and have taken a big step towards that with their fantastic start to the ongoing campaign.
