Back in August, Ethan Nwaneri became the youngest player to feature in the Premier League at just 15 years and 181 days when he came on in the closing minutes as Arsenal beat Brentford 3-0.
His achievement is impressive and shows the good work that is being done within Arsenal's academy as a number of first team stars have now graduated in recent years. Players such as Bukayo Saka have enjoyed a meteoric rise since joining the first team ranks in recent years and set an example for youngsters like Nwaneri to follow.
Within the Gunners dressing room there are also players like Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah who can set an example for products of the famed Hale End academy to follow. Despite a lack of first team opportunities for the Premier League leaders, both can point to an impressive career at a young age, with Nelson having finished as a runner up in last year's UEFA Europa Conference League while on loan at Feyenoord.
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Nelson, 22, has been a name tipped for stardom from an early age but has been unlucky in terms of first team football following the emergence of players like Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. However, he has been able to offer guidance to Nwaneri as he trains with the Gunners first team.
Nelson revealed his mentoring role in an interview published by Arsenal.com on Saturday. He explained his role in helping Nwaneri adjust, saying: “I’ve spoken to him a little bit and that’s what I said to him – it happens very quickly when you look back. I understand how it is when you come over to the first-team for the first time, and the coaches are explaining the drills.
"The older players might know what they are asking us to do, because we’ve heard it before, but the newer players, it can be hard to pick up everything that was said.
“I listen to it all, but the coaches will say it once and you’ve got to pick it up straight away. I’ve been here a long time now, so I understand it, but even for me a lot has changed while I was away on loan, so you’ve really got to take it all in. whenever I have Ethan in my group, I try to tell him: ‘bro they are asking us to do this or that’.
“It’s things like that which can be difficult at first, but other than that all I’ve said is to carry on doing what he’s doing, enjoy every moment of it, because I just want the best for him.”
Nelson has been a part of the first team at Arsenal for a number of years now, having first emerged under the guidance of Arsene Wenger back in 2017 and he also outlined the role played by senior pros during his formative years and how he hopes to play a similar role.
He explained: “When I was first training with the first-team I remember being with people like the boss, who was coming towards the end of his playing career at the time, but I remember being in groups with him, Per Mertesacker, Tomas Rosicky – all the experienced players – and they used to give me advice all the time. David Luiz was another who really helped me when I was younger, Alexandre Lacazette was another, and I appreciated that a lot.”
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