Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly were the latest Hale End stars to burst into the Arsenal first team, both enjoying breakthrough campaigns in the 2024/25 season.
Only turning 18 in March, Nwaneri scored nine goals across all competitions for the senior side, establishing himself as the deputy for both Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka in Mikel Arteta’s team.
Meanwhile, Myles Lewis-Skelly leapfrogged Riccardo Calafiori in the left-back pecking order, ending his debut first-team season having made 23 Premier League appearances.
Arsenal want to tie both teenagers down to new long-term contracts, as Arteta views them as pivotal pieces of his squad moving forward.
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Per Mertesacker reveals what it takes to make it at Arsenal
Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri follow in Bukayo Saka’s footsteps as talented youngsters making a name for themselves in the Arsenal first team in recent years.
The Hale End academy has seen a seismic increase in players making it in the professional game in recent years, with the club’s academy manager, Per Mertesacker, undoubtedly playing a major role in this success.
Speaking to Ian Wright in an interview for the Premier League, Mertesacker revealed that youngsters coming through at Arsenal need to be capable of playing in the team’s style and they need to possess a winning mentality.
Asked what it takes to make it at Arsenal, the former defender said: “We’re playing a certain style, therefore you need a certain technique. To sustain and have a real journey, there will be tough moments.
“We want to see if there is a level of champion within them, to be resilient.
“This environment that we provide at Arsenal, with the style that we play, but also we can create winners for Mikel and what we need. They [Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly] fit right into that.”
What Per Mertesacker said about Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly
Max Dowman is the next wonderkid developing at Hale End, but the talented 15-year-old is likely still a few years away from featuring regularly in the first team.
For now, Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly are the youngsters taking the Arsenal senior side by storm.
Asked by Wright about the pair of Gunners starlets, Mertesacker said: “They’re both unbelievable, and when you look at them two, they’ve had this advantage of taking this journey almost together.
“That’s brilliant.”
With both players’ contracts expiring at the end of next season, it’s imperative that Andrea Berta moves quickly to secure their long-term commitment to the club.
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