Mikel Arteta finally answered Rio Ferdinand’s Ethan Nwaneri call in major boost for Arsenal 

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Arsenal beat West Ham United 5-2 at the London Stadium to collect a crucial three points on match day 13.

The Gunners built on their Premier League win against Nottingham Forest, beating the Hammers away from home.

For the second time this week, Arsenal scored five goals away from home, with both games seeing five different names on the scoresheet.

Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz found the net against West Ham, making for a five star display in the derby.

By scoring and assisting, Saka matched a previous Cesc Fabregas record, making his presence at the London Stadium impossible to ignore. 

What Rio Ferdinand said about Ethan Nwaneri

There were plenty of positives that came from Arsenal’s win over West Ham, including the fact that fans saw Ethan Nwaneri in action again. 

The 17-year-old was called into action in the second half and impressed with his confidence however, it wasn’t just his performance that was noticeable.

Fans spotted that Mikel Arteta played the youngster on the right side of attack when he came on, seeing him move away from the central role we’re familiar with seeing him in. 

It’s interesting given that Rio Ferdinand called on Nwaneri to play on the right during TNT Sports’ coverage of the Gunners’ Champions League win over Sporting CP.

Ferdinand said that Odegaard’s presence makes it ‘unfortunate’ for Nwaneri but suggested that the Englishman could play wider. 

“You can see the talent there, the unfortunate thing at the moment is that the position in which he looks capable in is where Odegaard is.

“Nwaneri could shuffle out wide on the right-hand side where Saka is if need be,” Ferdinand explained.

Martin Keown also thinks Nwaneri’s position should be altered, calling for Arteta to test the water and play both the teenager and Odegaard in the future.

Nwaneri’s position vs West Ham is promising 

Those at Arsenal are impressed with Nwaneri, who at just 17-years-old, looks to be the real deal in attack.

Arteta certainly trusts the youngster however, the place for him in the starting XI is debatable due to Odegaard’s presence.

That being said, against West Ham, it became clear that Arteta is willing to test Nwaneri in a range of roles, which is a huge plus for the Gunners.

Seeing more of Nwaneri is what fans want and what was demanded when Odegaard was out of action, instructing Arteta to find a way to utilise both the teen and the club captain.