Martin Odegaard is helping to guide Ethan Nwaneri into the limelight at Arsenal.
As the Arsenal club captain, Martin Odegaard has responsibilities on and off the pitch.
Mikel Arteta will look to the Norwegian playmaker to help protect and support the young players coming through from the club’s Hale End academy into the first team.
Ethan Nwaneri is one such youngster who is now making the step up to senior level. The 17-year-old is a hugely talented player, and became the youngest player in both Arsenal and Premier League history when he made his debut back in 2022.
Now, the teenager is beginning to enjoy somewhat regular game time. Nwaneri has impressed Arsenal fans already this season, and is clearly ready to compete at the highest level on a regular basis.
However, he will still need a certain amount of protection and support. Odegaard has been mentoring Nwaneri for some time now, and it is clear that the pair have developed a close bond.
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Martin Odegaard and Ethan Nwaneri share similar story
Like Nwaneri, Odegaard himself broke through at a very young age. In fact, he had already made his full international debut by the age of 15.
He made a high profile switch to Real Madrid at a very young age, and had to deal with the pressures that came with that move.
Reflecting on this nascent stage in his career, whilst in conversation with Nwaneri in a video shared by the official Arsenal Instagram account, Odegaard said: “We are a bit similar… We both started young… Do you think it’s annoying that people just speak about your age?”
Nwaneri replied: “It gets annoying, because you just want to be known for playing, not just your age. How did you deal with that?”
Odegaard added: “It was the same for me, It was annoying, everyone just saw me as the young kid, you just want to be looked at as a normal player… When they see your quality, they don’t care too much about your age.”
Pressure on Nwaneri at Arsenal
Arteta has handled Nwaneri’s development and rise through the ranks at Arsenal very carefully. However, there is still the weight expectation on the youngster, as fans recognise what an enormous talent he is.
It is vital that a balance is struck this season, between giving him the game time he requires to develop, but not burdening him with too much responsibility too soon.
Odegaard will also have a vital role to play in helping Nwaneri to cope with his transition into a bona fide Arsenal star.
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