Mikel Arteta made headlines this weekend by handing 15-year-old Arsenal prospect Ethan Nwaneri his Premier League debut.
But former Liverpool man Danny Murphy has hit out at Arteta's decision to thrust the youngster into the spotlight at such a tender age and accused the Spaniard of mismanaging the talented teenager.
Nwaneri was named in the Arsenal squad that were hoping to bounce back against Brentford at the weekend after falling to their first league defeat of the season against Manchester United a fortnight ago. The Gunners responded in style with a 3-0 win to reclaim the top spot ahead of Manchester City. Goals from William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira were enough to clinch the points - but it was Nwaneri's late introduction that really caught the eye.
Nwaneri became the Premier League's youngest-ever player when he was introduced from the bench in stoppage time, with Arteta insisting that the impressive youngster "deserved" his moment.
But Murphy is adamant that Nwaneri would have been better served developing quietly away from the public eye and that his record-breaking moment against Brentford could do more harm than good.
He told talkSPORT: "I am not convinced it is the best move for a young player, I am really not. I have seen superstars come on the scene at a young age and thrive and go on and carry on, but there has also been a lot who have fallen by the wayside.
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"He is obviously a super-talent, doing well in training and impressing everybody, but surely they have got other 18, 19 and 20-year-olds who are further ahead in their development who could have gone on the bench. I think he is probably trying to keep a young superstar happy."
Arteta, however, had no doubts about whether or not to play Nwaneri and revealed after the match that he had already planned to introduce the attacking midfielder if the opportunity presented itself.
"We have the opportunities to bring young players on. We are pretty short and opportunities come when issues arise. It was a pure gut feeling. I met the boy, I really liked what I saw," the Gunners' boss said on Sunday.
"He trained with us a couple of times. I had that feeling yesterday that if the opportunity could come, I would do it. He deserves it. He has been doing great. He is such a big talent we want to keep him with us."
