Mikel Arteta says Arsenal must help build Ethan Nwaneri’s career “brick by brick” after the 17-year-old scored his first Premier League goal in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Nwaneri’s goal made him the ninth youngest goalscorer in Premier League history, with his strike the final nail in Forest’s coffin at the Emirates Stadium after Bukayo Saka’s stunner and Thomas Partey’s long-range effort.
The teenager has already made an impression on Arsenal‘s first team in domestic cup competitions, netting three times in the Carabao Cup, and looks increasingly at home in the first team each and every time he plays.
With Nwaneri garnering plenty of attention, Arteta was keen to temper expectations when he spoke to reporters post-match, making it clear that he is “responsible” for how his young career progresses and that it’s important that things are taken step by step.
“What I like is that he comes in and in that context the first thing he does is take a touch, runs forward, runs past two players and put it inches away from the post,” Arteta told reporters.
“I am responsible to build a career for him. You have to do that brick by brick. Today he put another brick. Now we have to put another cement, make sure it doesn’t get dry so we can put another one and that will stick.
“Then we put one more layer, one more layer. If you want to put five in a row believe me it won’t work.
“We have to manage not only his expectation but his load as well, which is really important.”
Arteta continued of the work he will undertake: “I will try to educate him, raise him, and give him the pathway that we believe is the best.
“His family, his agent, his friends, they will be very important as well. Don’t listen too much to the noise, focus on what he does which is to play football and he loves every minute of it and good things will happen to him for sure.”
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