Mikel Arteta has been sent a warning about how he uses young players at Arsenal.
Arsenal will be forced into some changes when they travel to face bitter local rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Due to a number of key absences, Mikel Arteta will have to shake things up when it comes to his team selection.
Arsenal can still name a strong starting XI against Spurs, despite Declan Rice, Mikel Merino, and Martin Odegaard all being sidelined.
However, there is still a chance for some surprise inclusions. One such move would be to bring Ethan Nwaneri into the XI for his first ever start at Premier League level.
The Hale End academy wonderkid is a huge prospect and is now right on the verge of a first team breakthrough. Indeed, Arteta has indicated that Nwaneri will play this season. However, there is certainly an argument that now is not the right time to throw the 17-year-old in at the deep end.
Mikel Arteta cautioned against repeating Charlie Patino mistake with Ethan Nwaneri
Journalist Charles Watts has used a cautionary tale from Arteta’s own previous missteps as Arsenal manager to warn the Spanish coach away from deploying Nwaneri this weekend.
Referencing one of Charlie Patino’s early outings in an Arsenal shirt, speaking on his Inside Arsenal YouTube channel, the reporter said: “I think back to Arteta’s decision to start Charlie Patino away at Nottingham Forest in that cup game, in a completely changed team.
“You know, not alongside the experienced players, Arsenal’s first team players that they had then. It was a real changed team, in a night game under the lights, at a City Ground that was bouncing and they were so up for it. It was such high intensity.
“I’m not sure Patino ever really recovered from that game. It wasn’t his fault that Arsenal played badly, there were senior players who played worse than him, but I think that was the wrong time to start Charlie.
“I would worry about if say Nwaneri came in and he really struggled and Tottenham ran riot… It’s a really important decision when you bring him in. There’s no doubt Nwaneri is going to play minutes this season.
“I’m not sure the North London Derby away from home is the right call.”
What went wrong for Charlie Patino at Arsenal?
Patino left Arsenal this summer, following underwhelming loan spells with Blackpool and Swansea City in the Championship.
The 20-year-old midfielder was highly rated by the North London club as a teenager and made a bright start to his senior career.
Arteta handed Patino his first team debut back in December 2021, introducing him as a substitute in an EFL Cup win over Sunderland. The youngster marked the occasion with a goal.
However, his last and final appearance for the Gunners came as a start in a 1-0 FA Cup defeat against Nottingham Forest in January 2022. This outing may well have knocked Patino’s confidence, as he looked relatively helpless in the heart of an underwhelming Arsenal side that underperformed across the board.
This is an example of how throwing in a young player into a tough occasion too soon can do more harm than good in terms of their development, and this is an error that Arteta must avoid when it comes to Nwaneri.
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