Ethan Nwaneri earned a rare start for Arsenal in the Champions League against Slavia Prague.
Nwaneri’s game time has been limited this season due to increased competition in the Arsenal squad.
With rotation required, Mikel Arteta called the teenager into action in the Champions League to rest Eberechi Eze, but not everything went to plan.
Early on against Slavia Prague, Arteta was instructing Nwaneri to change his body position, which was one tweak that was required on a rather lacklustre night for the attacking midfielder.
Ethan Nwaneri was passed by in Arsenal’s win over Slavia Prague
Having played just 180 minutes in the Champions League and Premier League all season before the match in Prague kicked off, it was unsurprising to see Nwaneri perform at a level below his usual standards.
It wasn’t that the 18-year-old was particularly poor, but he simply wasn’t in the game enough to attempt to influence things going forward.
| Ethan Nwaneri vs Slavia Prague |
| 30 touches |
| 1 successful dribble |
| 6x possession lost |
| 25% duels won |
| 2 fouls committed |
| 1 shot |
| 2 key passes |
As his numbers reveal, Nwaneri only recorded 30 touches on the ball in 65 minutes, which was far less than his midfield partners Christian Norgaard (43) and Declan Rice (59).
Just after the hour mark, Arteta took the teenager off to be replaced by Eze, perhaps understanding that his side needed more direction in the middle of the park.
Arsenal have grown accustomed to seeing Nwaneri’s daring ways on the pitch since his remarkable breakthrough last season, but against Slavia, things just weren’t the same.
Arsenal fans share the same concern about Nwaneri
Arsenal fans have high hopes for Nwaneri, but many couldn’t disguise their disappointment with what was on show against Slavia.
During the game, one Arsenal fan said, “I have always loved Nwaneri and I don’t know if it’s a minutes thing… but when you get opportunities to start in games like this .. you have to show why you should be favoured.”
“Nwaneri is so fixated on scoring he is lacking in every other department.”
Others recognised what the weak point of the teenager’s game is: duel winning.
“Nwaneri losing every single Duel is why Mikel don’t give him play time.”
Another agreed, “Nwaneri loses too many duels. Probably the reason why he doesn’t get as many minutes as he should.”
The narrative naturally turned to game time, as one supporter suspected that Nwaneri still hasn’t proven to Arteta that he can be trusted.
“Nwaneri needs to prove to Arteta that he can be trusted. He needs to take every chance he gets and make it difficult for the coach to drop him. He’s not doing that atm and Odegaard will be back soon.”
It was a tough game for Nwaneri and one that could be seen as a missed opportunity to impress, with chances not coming as frequently this season.
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