Arsenal will rue losing ‘one of the world’s best’ for £0

Tuesday evening got here as an entire and utter shock to nearly all of Arsenal followers.

After a few somewhat dower weeks, there was a priority amongst some that their recreation in opposition to PSV Eindhoven can be simply one other underwhelming affair.

As a substitute, Mikel Arteta’s aspect put seven previous the Dutch giants, with Hale Finish sensation Ethan Nwaneri as soon as once more grabbing a European recreation by the scruff of its neck.

The teenage dynamo has been one of many Gunners’ most fun gamers this season and appears set for an enormous future, however he is nonetheless being outperformed by a former youth participant the membership could not preserve a maintain of.

Most Arsenal followers first took discover of Nwaneri when Arteta made him the youngest participant in Premier League historical past in September 2022, bringing him on within the dying embers of a win in opposition to Brentford at simply 15 years and 181 days outdated.

He’d make a number of extra appearances the next season, however this 12 months has been the 17-year-old’s main breakthrough.

Regardless of nonetheless being so younger, the customarily “unplayable” prospect, as dubbed by Jack Wilshere, has already made 27 first-team appearances this time period, totalling 1019 minutes, through which he is scored eight targets and supplied one help.

Which means the Enfield-born gem is averaging a purpose involvement each three video games, or each 113.22 minutes, which is undeniably spectacular.

Furthermore, he is not simply scoring tap-ins, he is already amassed fairly {the catalogue} of strikes, from well-worked group strikes to curlers from outdoors the world – the child can do all of it.

He is showcased since Bukayo Saka’s harm why he is so particular, notably scoring in back-to-back away Champions League video games, which included a superb purpose in opposition to PSV this week.

With that mentioned, as sensible as he is been, one other former academy gem has been much more efficient this season.

The European celebrity doing higher than Nwaneri

Given the scale of Arsenal and their academy, it ought to come as no shock that they’ve had many superstars fall via the cracks early on of their careers, with Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze simply a few examples.

Nevertheless, some individuals won’t bear in mind that, earlier than he moved to Chelsea’s academy, Michael Olise was part of Hale Finish for a brief interval.

Sadly, the membership didn’t preserve a maintain of him, and after being launched by the Blues in 2016, then spending time with Manchester Metropolis’s youth set-up, he secured a transfer to Studying in 2017, Crystal Palace in 2021 after which lastly, a mega £50m transfer to Bayern Munich in the summertime simply gone.

Whereas the Frenchman was already tremendously spectacular in South London, racking up a tally of 16 targets and 25 assists in 90 appearances, he is reached one other stage solely this season having beforehand been described as “among the best skills on the earth” by Oliver Glasner.

In simply 36 appearances for FC Hollywood, totalling 2354 minutes, the “unstoppable” game-changer, as dubbed by Statman Dave, has scored 13 targets and supplied 12 assists and is exhibiting no indicators of slowing down.

Which means the sensational winger, whom author Muhammad Butt dubbed a “wizard”, is averaging a purpose involvement each 1.44 video games, or each 94.16 minutes.

Finally, in Nwaneri, Arsenal look to have a real world-beater within the making, however with how effectively Olise has performed this season, we think about the membership needs they might have saved maintain of him previously.