Matt Upson thinks Mikel Arteta has now found a player who perfectly ‘fits the bill’ to replace a key Arsenal star after what he saw at Brighton & Hove Albion this Saturday.
The Gunners hit the road for an evening affair on the south coast as Arteta and Arsenal tried to put more pressure on Liverpool atop the Premier League table. Arne Slot’s Reds play their first fixture of 2025 this Sunday when Liverpool host Manchester United at Anfield at 16:30.
Arsenal have now played two fixtures in 2025 after also visiting Brentford on New Year’s Day in midweek. Yet the task facing Arteta to maintain their latest Premier League title bid keeps getting tougher after Arsenal saw Gabriel Martinelli get an injury before their trip to Brighton.
Arsenal have a ‘good replacement’ for Bukayo Saka after Ethan Nwaneri scored at Brighton
Martinelli is the latest Arsenal player to suffer an injury with Arteta also missing Bukayo Saka plus Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz are suffering from illnesses. It will be some time until their woes ease yet Upson says Arsenal have a great replacement for Saka in Ethan Nwaneri.
Nwaneri started in Saka’s place on Arsenal’s right wing at Brighton and he quickly impressed Upson by scoring the first goal of the game. The 17-year-old darted in from the wing and put the ball in the ideal spot for Seagulls stopper Bart Verbruggen to not be able to make a save.
But, with Arsenal expecting Saka’s hamstring injury will last months following surgery, Upson thinks Nwaneri ‘fits the bill’ to step in for Arteta. Saturday marked only his fifth career senior start and second in the Premier League after Nwaneri started Arsenal’s 3-1 win at Brentford.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Arsenal wonderkid Ethan Nwaneri
“What a good replacement Ethan Nwaneri is for Bukayo Saka,” Upson stated on BBC Radio 5 Live. “He fits the bill. The pace, body shape and the lovely left foot he has got. Brighton get caught out. Nwaneri shapes the ball onto his left foot and he slots it into the far post.”
What is Ethan Nwaneri’s salary at Arsenal?
As well as proving to Upson that Nwaneri is up to the job of replacing Saka on Arsenal’s right wing by scoring at Brighton, the England Under-19 midfielder also showed why the Gunners are keen to book his future. It was also his fifth career senior goal plus second in the league.
Arsenal are in talks with Nwaneri over a new contract, and the club also want to give him an important salary to reflect his status as an increasingly important first-team player. The teen only put pen to paper on Nwaneri’s first professional contract at Arsenal during March 2024.
Talks are ongoing over fresh terms with which Arsenal intend to increase Nwaneri’s £3,000-a-week salary to £60,000-a-week. A new deal would even protect Arsenal as Nwaneri is set to be a free agent in the summer of 2026 on his current terms, which do not reflect his role.
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