Ethan Nwaneri: Nwaneri In The Coal Mine

[Gooner Zig]

Not sure how true that is. He's been poor and anonymous for awhile since teams figured out how to stop him cutting onto his left. Sure he's an elite shooter but that's not helpful if he can't work himself into good shooting positions rather than the pop shots he's had. He doesn't seem particular creative for a 10 as well (he doesn't look up as much as I'd like to). All this is okay, he's a kid and still has a few years to learn this. I think it's okay for people to point out aspects of his game which need improving.

There's one thing about being critical but your post here shows how hypercritical some of the fanbase have been towards Nwaneri. I don't know what games you have been watching but his PL performances, specifically the ones vs Leeds and Nottingham Forest when he came on for Ødegaard I thought were top performances for an 18 yo playing in that position / role. Specifically I have been very impressed in how he has demanded and been attracted to the ball. The one thing I saw last season was that he 'disappeared' quite a bit in games when playing that Ødegaard role but it has been the complete opposite for much of this season. He's 18 years old so he's going to have games where he's a bit anon but for the most part I've been really encouraged with how involved he's been.

Like @Melquiades said - people are treating him as a 21/22 yo which is madness. He only turned 18 in March.

 

[Geofranco]

Not sure how true that is. He's been poor and anonymous for awhile since teams figured out how to stop him cutting onto his left. Sure he's an elite shooter but that's not helpful if he can't work himself into good shooting positions rather than the pop shots he's had. He doesn't seem particular creative for a 10 as well (he doesn't look up as much as I'd like to). All this is okay, he's a kid and still has a few years to learn this. I think it's okay for people to point out aspects of his game which need improving.

People get so sensitive about academy kids. It's just hard to break through, only Saka has been a mainstay in the team. Even if he doesn't make it here like ESR, Eddie, and Iwobi but goes on to be a decent player and gets us a fee, he'll be a Hale End success in my books. Seems like the least of our worries

The issue is some people are quick to try to point out the deficiencies in young teenagers games, but make excuses for established veterans when they have bad form that lasts months lol. I noticed that there are a particular set of so called fans that love big money signings who usually turn out to not be worth the investment, they make a lot of excuses for them, but are quick to give up on underperforming academy players that literally have Arsenal DNA in their veins. Then you have the Arteta acolytes that will start attacking particular players when some fans are asking for them to play. So when they get a chance after not being used consistently or with a bunch of players that have no rhythm or chemistry, they attack the player and say, "this is why Arteta doesn't trust him". The same manager that hasn't won anything in 5 years. They did the same thing with teenage Saliba when it was obvious he was already better than Holding, Mustafi and Luiz.

 

[Blood on the Tracks]

He's 18 years old. If he hasn't got stuff nailed down by 21 or so then you worry.

For most players of his age progress is not linear. Saka and to an extent MLS are the anomaly not the rule.

I compare him to someone like Foden, very hyped talent as a kid and in took him 3-4 years of being a bit of a peripheral player to really make his mark.

I think sometimes as a fanbase we can go out of our way to look for reasons to worry when what's happened is actually very normal for 95% of starlets.

 

[Rasmi]

He's 18 years old. If he hasn't got stuff nailed down by 21 or so then you worry.

For most players of his age progress is not linear. Saka and to an extent MLS are the anomaly not the rule.

I compare him to someone like Foden, very hyped talent as a kid and in took him 3-4 years of being a bit of a peripheral player to really make his mark.

I think sometimes as a fanbase we can go out of our way to look for reasons to worry when what's happened is actually very normal for 95% of starlets.

Things can quickly go other way as well. Mainioo was a starter for England in the Euro finals less than 18 months ago. Today he’s not even in the England conversation and him not being picked is not even a headline

That shows if you not playing football will leave you by quickly and others will go ahead if you. Even MLS few months ago people were saying England long term LB. Now City LB is ahead of him and he didn’t get picked and going by Tuchels word. He’s unlikely to be picked as he’s not playing enough

 

[Gunner D]

Things can quickly go other way as well. Mainioo was a starter for England in the Euro finals less than 18 months ago. Today he’s not even in the England conversation and him not being picked is not even a headline

That shows if you not playing football will leave you by quickly and others will go ahead if you. Even MLS few months ago people were saying England long term LB. Now City LB is ahead of him and he didn’t get picked and going by Tuchels word. He’s unlikely to be picked as he’s not playing enough

Why are you obsessed with the thought of us selling Nwaneri?

 

[Trilly]

Things can quickly go other way as well. Mainioo was a starter for England in the Euro finals less than 18 months ago. Today he’s not even in the England conversation and him not being picked is not even a headline

That shows if you not playing football will leave you by quickly and others will go ahead if you. Even MLS few months ago people were saying England long term LB. Now City LB is ahead of him and he didn’t get picked and going by Tuchels word. He’s unlikely to be picked as he’s not playing enough

Yeah but playing for the national team as a young player isn’t the be all and end all so I don’t really care about that.

I have no issues with his performances either as he’s a baby. But what I am worried about is his game time once everyone’s fit.

As nice as it would be to have him on the bench I think we might have to loan him next season unless he can break through as Ode’s backup. Right now he seems to have Ode, Eze and Merino ahead of him which is just too much.

 

[Kobi]

I think he’s better on the right, I really don’t understand why he doesn’t get any minutes there at all, especially now he is seemingly behind Eze, Ødegaard and Merino.
We could have given Saka some much needed rest with Madueke out and surely if you are Nwaneri you would rather have a decent amount of minutes on the right rather than next to none, he can still play centrally as well if the opportunity arises (Carling Cup etc).
I just don’t think he’s a playmaker, similar to Foden or Eze, it’s more about dribbling and shooting. I’m not sure he has the subtlety in his passing.
Plus look at his goals against City and Brighton last season cutting in, he was such a good option there, he’s only a kid and his future might well be in the middle but for the time being I don’t understand why he isn’t at least an option there.
Doesn’t make sense to me.

 

[Kuroske]

I think he’s better on the right, I really don’t understand why he doesn’t get any minutes there at all, especially now he is seemingly behind Eze, Ødegaard and Merino.
We could have given Saka some much needed rest with Madueke out and surely if you are Nwaneri you would rather have a decent amount of minutes on the right rather than next to none, he can still play centrally as well if the opportunity arises (Carling Cup etc).
I just don’t think he’s a playmaker, similar to Foden or Eze, it’s more about dribbling and shooting. I’m not sure he has the subtlety in his passing.
Plus look at his goals against City and Brighton last season cutting in, he was such a good option there, he’s only a kid and his future might well be in the middle but for the time being I don’t understand why he isn’t at least an option there.
Doesn’t make sense to me.

I’m frustrated as well, but on the other hand, he’s still only 18. What we’re seeing now isn’t the finished product. Maybe Arsenal should loan him out so he can get regular minutes instead of rotting on the bench and ending up becoming the next ESR.

 

[Goonger]

Personally think Ethan will have a Foden like introduction into the squad.

Arteta will drip feed him games until he is a very important player. Who knows how long this takes, but if you're a serious club trying to win titles you don't play teenagers just because of development purposes.

It's funny you mention Foden, as for the last couple of weeks i've been thinking about which profile of player he / we should be looking to develop him into, & the name i kept coming back to was Foden.

Left footed, skilful enough to beat players but not rapid in terms of top speed, similar stature and ride's challenges in a similar way, really good shot on him.

Like Nwaneri, Foden was initially in & out of the team, he had to show his patience & everyone was saying he needed to go on loan or he would stagnate. I'm not saying Nwaneri defo shouldn't go out on loan at some point, but just showing that it doesn't need to always happen.

I might be wrong, but i'm pretty sure Foden hadn't even made his first Man City start in the league at the age Nwaneri is now.

 

[Kuroske]

It's funny you mention Foden, as for the last couple of weeks i've been thinking about which profile of player he / we should be looking to develop him into, & the name i kept coming back to was Foden.

Left footed, skilful enough to beat players but not rapid in terms of top speed, similar stature and ride's challenges in a similar way, really good shot on him.

Like Nwaneri, Foden was initially in & out of the team, he had to show his patience & everyone was saying he needed to go on loan or he would stagnate. I'm not saying Nwaneri defo shouldn't go out on loan at some point, but just showing that it doesn't need to always happen.

I might be wrong, but i'm pretty sure Foden hadn't even made his first Man City start in the league at the age Nwaneri is now.

I remember when Pep claimed that Foden was the most talented player he had ever coached, yet rarely played him, which made me think he was just paying lip service. But now I understand why he did that.
Talent alone isn’t enough to justify more minutes in the Premier League. It is the toughest league in the world, where every match carries massive stakes. One loss or draw can cost you the title or even your job. This isn’t some farmer’s league where you can just throw in a youngster and expect him to dominate like in the youth teams.

That said, limited playing time can still slow down a player’s development. Who knows, maybe if Foden had played more regularly in a less demanding league, he might already be a bona fide world-class player by now.

 

[Kuroske]

Yeah but playing for the national team as a young player isn’t the be all and end all so I don’t really care about that.

I have no issues with his performances either as he’s a baby. But what I am worried about is his game time once everyone’s fit.

As nice as it would be to have him on the bench I think we might have to loan him next season unless he can break through as Ode’s backup. Right now he seems to have Ode, Eze and Merino ahead of him which is just too much.

If he does get loaned out, the club really needs to choose the destination carefully. He has to be somewhere he’ll start every week, not just keep the bench warm for another team like Nelson did during his loan spells.

 

[Trilly]

It's funny you mention Foden, as for the last couple of weeks i've been thinking about which profile of player he / we should be looking to develop him into, & the name i kept coming back to was Foden.

Left footed, skilful enough to beat players but not rapid in terms of top speed, similar stature and ride's challenges in a similar way, really good shot on him.

Like Nwaneri, Foden was initially in & out of the team, he had to show his patience & everyone was saying he needed to go on loan or he would stagnate. I'm not saying Nwaneri defo shouldn't go out on loan at some point, but just showing that it doesn't need to always happen.

I might be wrong, but i'm pretty sure Foden hadn't even made his first Man City start in the league at the age Nwaneri is now.

The thing is Foden imo would be even better (or at least more consistent) if it hadn’t taken him however many years it did to get consistent minutes. This is the downside of breaking through at a big club.

While Saka was playing week in week out through his good spells and bad spells Foden was competing with the likes of the Silvas, KDB, Gundogan etc and would be dropped the moment he hit a rough spell.

 

[Goonger]

If he does get loaned out, the club really needs to choose the destination carefully. He has to be somewhere he’ll start every week, not just keep the bench warm for another team like Nelson did during his loan spells.

This is the other thing, we would need to be very careful of in terms of loan.

Look at Harvey Elliot for example, who was more senior to Nwaneri in the U21 tournament in the summer.

He is struggling to get a look in at Villa, and his loan included an obligation after a certain number of appearances.

 

[Kuroske]

The thing is Foden imo would be even better (or at least more consistent) if it hadn’t taken him however many years it did to get consistent minutes. This is the downside of breaking through at a big club.

While Saka was playing week in week out through his good spells and bad spells Foden was competing with the likes of the Silvas, KDB, Gundogan etc and would be dropped the moment he hit a rough spell.

Look at Barcelona. By luck high-potential kids like Lamine, Cubarsi, Balde, Casado, Gavi, and Lopez got their chances because the club is not what it used to be to splash €200m every season. Otherwise, they’d still be warming the bench or left for another club and their career would have looked very different.

 

[Rasmi]

This is the other thing, we would need to be very careful of in terms of loan.

Look at Harvey Elliot for example, who was more senior to Nwaneri in the U21 tournament in the summer.

He is struggling to get a look in at Villa, and his loan included an obligation after a certain number of appearances.

Elliot is victim of politics though. Every Villa fan want him to get more minutes. It seems Villa have decided they don’t want to sign him as they will be obliged if he makes 10 appearances. So he gets zero minutes. ****ty way to treat a player

 

[Rasmi]

Yeah but playing for the national team as a young player isn’t the be all and end all so I don’t really care about that.

I have no issues with his performances either as he’s a baby. But what I am worried about is his game time once everyone’s fit.

As nice as it would be to have him on the bench I think we might have to loan him next season unless he can break through as Ode’s backup. Right now he seems to have Ode, Eze and Merino ahead of him which is just too much.

With Noni and Ode out he didn’t get much playing time. If everyone is fit he’s not even making the bench

 

[The Ducking Duck]

Elliot is victim of politics though. Every Villa fan want him to get more minutes. It seems Villa have decided they don’t want to sign him as they will be obliged if he makes 10 appearances. So he gets zero minutes. ****ty way to treat a player

Elliot isn't rated by Emery. Monchi signed him out of desperation, nothing else.

 

[Goonger]

Elliot is victim of politics though. Every Villa fan want him to get more minutes. It seems Villa have decided they don’t want to sign him as they will be obliged if he makes 10 appearances. So he gets zero minutes. ****ty way to treat a player

Yes, there is that. But as @The Ducking Duck says, if Emery rated him, he would be playing him.

I think suffers from the same thing that i could see Nwaneri suffering from at other clubs as well, in that they might see him as not pacey enough to be a wide player, but perhaps slightly lightweight currently if you play him inside, as 'lesser' clubs in the league would likely default back to more physical, experienced players at the first sign of poor results.

Then the question would become would he benefit more from a move abroad, but then he won't be subjected to the same physicality that he would in the EPL.

That's why i think just putting him out on loan would not be as straight forward as it might seem even with the talent he has.

 

[Rasmi]

Elliot isn't rated by Emery. Monchi signed him out of desperation, nothing else.

Nah it’s not about being rated. He’s been frozen out and not even getting sub minutes. Specially when Emery has played guessand who’s really struggled. It’s a business decision end of the day

 

[Goonger]

Nah it’s not about being rated. He’s been frozen out and not even getting sub minutes. Specially when Emery has played guessand who’s really struggled. It’s a business decision end of the day

Is the most likely thing not that Emery has looked at the guy, and decided that he probably doesn't rate him enough to pay out he £35M it would take to sign him permanently?

So yeah, a business decision, but based on Emery's opinion of him. Otherwise, what was the point of the loan in the first place if not playing him was purely a business decision?