Ethan Nwaneri is Arsenal's Phil Foden! | NEXT SEASON IS HIS TIME!

I always urge caution on young players. I think in today's day and age, there's too much hyper opinions. I think people are impressed by dazzling skills, and then they start running to the hilltops with projections on these players, quickly forgetting that young players are learning the tricks and trades of the game, and then when they inevitably struggle on the road to success, because, you know, it's never linear, the same, you know, tags, the next disc that the other, are the same tags they essentially die by. That being said, it is hard not to be excited by Arsenal youngster Ethan Ngamweri's potential and how he is as a player, and I believe next season there should be some real integration into Arsenal's first team. I avoid comparing young players, but he feels like he's part of the Phil Foden's, the Sackers, the Colby Mainos, the exceptions to the rules for young players. In fact, I do think we have our very own Phil Foden in, you know, Ethan. I think there's a lot of parallels between, you know, Phil Foden's development under Pep Guardiola and the many talking points that were provided and the many different positions he plays and how he's grown in stature there, and also under Mikel Arteta, what could happen at Arsenal. Bearing in mind Mikel Arteta has a track record with the existing Arsenal players, and obviously the Jadon Sancho's and Sterling's of this world. And he was also at Manchester City before he took his first job as Arsenal manager. Back to Ethan, he's a typical Arsenal player. He must be, you know, he has the potential to be a poster boy in the same vein of Bukayo Saka, and not quite to his level, but in terms of Reece Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Smith Rowe, Jack Wilshere, and many players that have progressed from Halen and cutting out careers. You look at Iwobi, you look at Joe Willock, you know, you look at Balogun, you look at Josh De Silva. There's plenty of players cutting trades in the game. And there's also other examples. You look at Eze, Nathan Teller, Harry Kane. At some point they were in Arsenal's academy and then they went elsewhere and they're all footballers and playing at a high level, which also shows you that football is a, you know, funny old game of opinions. But back to Ethan, he's a typical Arsenal player. He's a natural born star, in my opinion. He has the stardust. He has the X factor that all of these kind of players have. He's very relaxed in his temperament. And at the same way, I like how he wants to make decisive moments. He's very rarely phased. He's fantastic in the pocket. He's got fantastic passing range. He's capable of sheer brilliance, technically. Dancing past players, hitting it from 30 yards. And he's got the humility. Now he knows how good he is, but you can see he's a team player and he comes across as someone that doesn't believe he's any better or worse than his fellow man. And it's that humility that will take you far. Talent gets you in the room. Your motivation, your stamina and motivation, your willingness to learn and behave like you're still essentially a learner and never an expert is what keeps you in the room and what has cut out careers. Of course, Ethan is never going to be Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. But that example is an extreme one. But it rings true, people. I genuinely believe he could be a Hay-Len success story. And I genuinely believe, to some degree, he needs more first-team football next season. Next season, we have the potential to solve an internal problem with an internal solution. We all know we've got an issue around depth. We need to be in a scenario where we have a 20-man squad of different kind of ratings that we all believe in. At a push, I'd say we have 12. If we assume Trossart is on the bench, the 11 out there are Trossart's called upon. Of course, through different factors, you've got Partey, Gabriel Jesus, Tom Iasi, Siencianko, players that haven't always played on a consistent basis. So at a push, we've probably got 14. We need about 20. So, you know, I'll get on to it. But I'm not saying Ethan needs to play every minute of every game. Again, I'll get on to why that would actually be counterproductive, even though there are some young players that have been bloodied on the scene from 16 to 17 years of age. I think we can solve an internal solution. You know, I do think long term, he is an 8 and a 10. And I think maybe that's why Arsenal are treading carefully with midfield additions. And I think long term, he'll be that. But I think in the short and medium term, he can play there. But he could also deputise on the left or probably the right hand side in some capacity, a bit like Phil Foden has done for the last few years and had a great season last season for Manchester City. The man's got the capacity to receive and dribble with, you know, at speed. He can slow the game down. He also has shown a willingness to contribute defensively. He's comfortable both in wide and central areas. You know, his ball retention and him on the half turn is a crazy sight. He was born to play football. There's a reason he made history in September of 2022, when at just age 15 years and 181 days, he became Arsenal's youngest ever player or maybe even the youngest ever player in English top flight matches. Now, for every Cesc Fabregas or Rooney or Jack Wilshere, there's people like Matthew Briggs, who again, no disrespect or what was, I can't remember his name, James Vaughan at Everton. My point of saying that is not to criticise those players. It's just a career is never linear. Just because you've got a debut as a young player does not mean you're going to cut your teeth at the top level on a consistent basis. We also got to remember he's the youngest player to represent our first team when he came on in the 3-0 win two seasons ago at Brentford. You know, he's a quality player and he's continued his development and his slow integration into the first team. And you would have seen he came on as a substitute in our 6-0 victory against West Ham back in February of earlier this year. The hammers got hammered. And of course, you know, psychologically, there's going to be issues because that's kind of the big time. You know, you're a young man. You're playing with some players who's probably playing with FIFA. And I'm sure that the more senior players, Odegaard and whatnot, they want to make him feel comfortable. But I would also say the fact that they were consistently trying to get him in possession in that game shows you that the man has the ability to be here, people. I think he's a quality player. And when you look at the history he's made so far and he's not even scratched the surface, it again underlines and underscores his potential on the pitch and undoubtedly his talent, people. You know, he's a quality player. When you hear the way Jack Wilshere, Arteta, Martinelli, Odegaard speak about the player, you know, they're not just saying this for no reason. Now, again, of course, he's got to correlate that on a first team basis. And I think Per Mertesacker said it best when he said Ethan has a strong ability to master the ball, dominate possession and is really effective in the final third. He fits into Arsenal's style of play. He is someone that will thrive on and off the pitch as a strong young gunner and we'll look forward to working with him during his ongoing development in years to come. And that's a player, man. I have to say again, he plays with a swagger. The link-up plays lovely. He's fantastic in the pockets. He's very confident on the ball. He wants the ball as well. It's very easy to want the ball when the sun's shining and you're having a lot of possession. You would have seen on numerous occasions at Under-21s level, he scored a number of vital goals, whether they were winners or equalisers or just responding collectively as a team to adversity. Again, I genuinely believe his progression and trajectory into Arsenal's first team could loosely mimic Phil Foden at Manchester City under Pep. You know, as you know, Pep gradually eased him into the first team. And one thing I like about Phil Foden's development, and it's more of the collective environments of both teams, is Phil Foden has made the difference for Manchester City. But Manchester City have never lived or died by him having a good game. When Saka came through, nine times out of ten, probably until the last two seasons, if Saka had a good game or bad game, that directly correlated as to whether Arsenal were getting three points or not. Now, as you can see, Saka is still a decisive player, but the burden is being spread out. And I think that is the sort of environment you want for Ethan, if I'm completely honest. You would imagine next season he's playing Under-21s for the majority of it and playing and training with the first team. But I think he needs to get some football, man. Again, we need to take our time with it, if I'm honest. You know, the modern game requires players really and truly to be able to play in a number of roles. You look at Foden, Cole Palmer, Sly, even Bukayo Saka, a lot of footballers, you know. And as a young player trying to get into a first team, challenging for titles, reality is you play where you can. If the manager says play left back, you might not be a left back. But if you don't play, you might not get first team football, people. And I do think that's something, as I said, in the short, medium and long term. And even in fact, in the short term, he could be an option out wide. Long term is a ten or an eight. And I would like to see him exposed to regular football in the eight or the ten role, because as good as Foden is, I won't quite say he struggles there, but the man has said that's his position. He hasn't been exposed to that. You know, when you hear the way, I know people don't want to hear it. But when you hear the way Gareth Southgate speaks about him and saying he doesn't play there at club level, you do kind of see that correlate to England at first team level. Now, all of these factors are not an issue, but Foden hasn't consistently played in that eight and the ten as good as he is. And he's able to play there. There's certain mannerisms at the top level that he lacks because he hasn't been exposed there really and truly. And that's the one thing I would say I would like to see change versus Phil Foden's progression and Ethan's. Now, obviously, if Ethan is able to be mentioned in the same breath as Foden in the next couple of years, he's doing something right. I do think, and again, as much as I want him to play, I do think his minutes will have to be managed very carefully. You know, he's got the ability. He's got the temperament. Now it's about consistency. As you know, in the professional game, you're playing three times in 10 days. It doesn't matter if you did the business on the Saturday, if in the Champions League or not. So we need to give him the time to develop that aspect tactically as well. Because again, it's all about tactics and his ability to retain and replicate information given to him by Arsenal's coaching staff. Physically, it is a big ask to play Premier League and Champions League or high professional, high performance sport. So we're going to have to allow the 17-year-old to get there because, you know, if we play on Tuesday, physically, he's going to have to recover in a couple of days to be able to play at the weekend. So he needs to be given time to develop that consistency, that physicality, you know, and all of those kinds of things I've mentioned. I would like him to be, I would say for Ethan, from what I've seen at Under-21s level, I think you could be a tiny bit more prominent across 90 minutes. He just needs a second to make something happen. But I want to see you a bit more proactive across 90 minutes. But this isn't a criticism. This is something you expect of someone at his age. And I think he could be even more decisive. But this will all come in time. And I'd also say let his personality shine when he's exposed to the first team, because you do see that humility. But these things will come, people. And in a positive way, his exploits at youth level for Arsenal and England, they don't impress me anymore because I'm used to it, people. I believe he got 10 goals and three assists in all comps last season for the 21s. Some of you remember his hat-trick against Leicester, bagging against Chelsea, Spurs and Stoke and a number of vital goals, people. And if I remember correctly, he got a lovely brace against Aston Villa. Long-term, in conclusion, I think this is a player we can be very excited about. And I do think this is someone who, in his own way, in the short-medium term, could be exposed to more first-team football and provide a solution of such, especially if we do not buy a winger in the summer, really and truly. And he's someone that's multifunctional. He is someone that Mikel Arteta has criticised about Hay-Lenders. He is someone that he could bet his hat on. And that could be your somewhat poster boy. That is your Phil Foden, if I'm completely honest. He's in the right place where development is concerned. I believe Mikel Arteta has shown players young and old. You know, you look at the players that are becoming managers now or doing their coaching badges. You look at the improvements several players young and old have made at Arsenal Football Club. You know, the Sackers, the Oligars, Enquetes, Saliba. On top of the work we all know he did with Sancho and Sterling, he's got the right manager at the helm. And then you've got the right mentor with someone like Oligar, who's had to cope with the pressures of being a young player himself. And I use the term youth loosely, but we have got this youth project. I genuinely believe Ethan is one of the naturally gifted players of his generation. And I do think he could be the most exciting talent since Jack Wilshere and Bukayo Saka came through. Give or take between, you know, someone like Max Dolman, who's only 14 and he'll get his own time to shine. Plus, I would say he's a real North Londoner. You know, Arsenal, we're all Arsenal. And technically we came from South, but he's born in Enfield. Now, as an Arsenal fan, as a North Londoner, a real North Londoner, I've been praying for this. So supporting even more people. So, yeah, in short, I'd love to see Ethan exposed to more first team football. But again, we have to be patient, slow cooking, let him develop. We're not privy to all the, you know, all the reasons as to why he may or may not be getting first team football. But that's just my thoughts. I do think there's a spot for him next season. Let me know your thoughts. Don't forget to like, comment and subscribe. Most importantly, thank you for listening. Stay safe, stay blessed. Peace.