Mikel Arteta told how to ‘protect’ Ethan Nwaneri at Arsenal amid Cesc Fabregas revelation

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Cesc Fabregas has now discussed the manner in which Arsene Wenger handled his breakthrough at Arsenal.

Cesc Fabregas was a teen sensation for Arsenal.

The Spanish midfielder made his first team debut for the Gunners as a 16-year-old in 2003, becoming the youngest player to ever feature for the North London club at that time.

That record has since been eclipsed and is now held by Ethan Nwaneri who was handed his first appearance by Mikel Arteta back in September 2022, when he was still just 15-years-old. That outing made the Hale End academy wonderkid the youngest player in both Arsenal and Premier League history. 

However, whilst Nwaneri has only added one more senior appearance to his tally since then, Fabregas fairly rapidly became a regular in the first team following his debut.

That being said, Arsene Wenger was careful to manage Fabregas’ rise carefully.

• READ MORE: What is the North London Derby? Everything you need to know about the Arsenal and Tottenham rivalry

Cesc Fabregas reveals protection provided by Arsene Wenger at Arsenal

Whilst Fabregas eventually became a star for club and country in the middle of the park, Wenger was reluctant to throw him straight into the heart of the team.

As explained by Fabregas, speaking on The Rest is Football podcast: “Starting a little bit from the right, coming inside, because he wanted to protect me. Not be too much in the middle in this kind of 4-4-2 system. 

“Then playing me in the middle with Patrick [Vieira], or Edu and Gilberto Silva. Then he moved me as a No. 10. So, I felt that year after year I was getting better.”

Wenger often deployed the teenaged Fabregas on the flank, as the French coach clearly felt that this position would be a little more forgiving for the inexperienced youngster.

What Mikel Arteta must now do with Ethan Nwaneri

Nwaneri is now pushing for more involvement at the Emirates Stadium, and will almost certainly make progress this season in terms of adding further appearances to his tally.

Arteta has promised Nwaneri that he will play if he earns the right to. However, the manager should take a lesson from Wenger’s book, and seek to give the youngster minutes in a wide role.

Nwaneri has generally played centrally at academy level, but has the attributes required to flourish on the flanks, and would benefit from not needing to have a 360 degree understanding of the game at Premier League level in this nascent stage of his career. 

Nwaneri could feature against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend due to injuries elsewhere in the Arsenal squad. However, even if Arteta does need to call on the England under-19 international in the North London Derby, he must deploy him in a responsible fashion.