Arsenal’s academy continues to produce talented youngsters, and the heir to Ethan Nwaneri’s throne may already be emerging.
Bukayo Saka is the poster boy for the Hale End academy, having developed through the system and broken into the first team before establishing himself as one of the best players in the world.
Meanwhile, the likes of Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly look set to follow in his footsteps, with both cementing a role for themselves in the first team over the last 12 months.
Max Dowman is now the new name on everyone’s lips, although there is another interesting starlet who enjoyed an important milestone on Saturday afternoon.
Emerson Nwaneri makes Arsenal under-18s debut
Nwaneri enjoyed an impressive breakout season last year for the Gunners, netting nine goals across all competitions, despite only turning 18 in March.
The attacking midfielder is one of the most promising young players in the Premier League and will be looking to make major strides forward this term.
Interestingly, he’s not the only Nwaneri in the pipeline at Arsenal. Ethan’s younger brother, Emerson, is also developing through the Hale End academy.
Emerson Nwaneri made his debut for Arsenal’s Under-18s on Saturday. Introduced as a 63rd-minute substitute for the youth team as the Gunners lost 2-1 to Fulham, it was a milestone moment for the young midfielder.
Ethan’s brother recently turned 15 and is understood to be similar in style to his sibling. Whether or not he can develop into a first-team player remains to be seen, but the fact that he’s playing a few years above his age group already is a positive sign.
This is a golden era for Hale End
While fans tend to judge their academy purely on the number of players from it who develop into superstars, this isn’t how the academy assesses their own work.
Saka and Lewis-Skelly’s breakthroughs are excellent for the North London club, but these unique stars likely would’ve found a way to rise to the top wherever they spent their youth days.
It’s the volume of players who have emerged from Arsenal’s academy who have gone on to enjoy top level careers over the last ten years that is so impressive.
The likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Alex Iwobi, Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson, Folarin Balogun and Omari Hutchinson have all gone on to play in the Premier League or other top leagues.
This is an astounding success rate for such a short space of time, and it speaks to the exceptional work that Per Mertesacker has done.
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