Ethan Nwaneri made Premier League history at the weekend after becoming the youngest player to feature in England's top-flight division, aged 15 years and 181 days old. Introduced from the bench late on against Brentford on Sunday, Nwaneri overtook Liverpool's Harvey Elliott, who previously held the record at 16 years and 30 days when he played for Fulham back in 2019.
Speaking after the game, Mikel Arteta explained his decision to bring on the Hale End product, citing the player's impressive attitude in training. "It was a pure gut feeling. I met the boy (and) really liked what I saw," he said. "Per Mertesacker and the academy staff are giving me really good information, Edu as well. I met him, he’s trained a couple of times with us. Yesterday he had to come because we have injuries."
Granit Xhaka was also asked about Nwaneri's cameo and whilst he admitted that he is a special talent, the vice-captain emphasised the importance of protecting him at such a young age. "To have a guy who is fifteen, who is fifteen years younger than me…he looks old when I see him but the club can be proud of a player like him," Xhaka said.
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"He has a big future, if I am honest, I am doing my coaching licence and I have trained the Under-16s. You can see a big difference with him and the other guys. He is very, very special. Of course you have to protect him as he is very young but if he keeps going like this with his hard work he has a big, big future."
Having made his senior Arsenal debut already, there's no doubt that the sky is the limit for Nwaneri but when exactly can he sign his first professional contract with the club? football.london explains.
Prior to signing a professional contract, Nwaneri will be eligible to sign a scholarship form once he has left school. This is the first main step towards getting a pro contract. Once scholarship forms have been signed, Nwaneri can then be paid a weekly salary which often varies between clubs. Although he will not be on a weekly salary at the moment, he can still receive money through sponsorship deals for items such as boots and clothes.
If and when Nwaneri signs scholarship forms, his main target will then be to earn the first professional contract, but he will not be able to sign one until he turns 17 - one year and six months away from now. Judging by his progress so far, however, this should not be a problem for the Arsenal starlet.
Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City are all tracking Nwaneri according to The Times, so academy manager Mertesacker will be keen to convince the player that Arsenal remains the best place for his development and Sunday's opportunity with the first team will undoubtedly go a long way in achieving just that.
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