11 December 2023 , 22:36
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has hailed Ethan Nwaneri, Lino Sousa and Reuell Walters, with the trio preparing to play significant roles against PSV Eindhoven.
The youngsters have been involved in the Gunners' preparations ahead of the Champions League clash on Tuesday. It will be the final game of the group stages, with Arteta's side having already secured top spot and with it a place in the knockout stages.
As a result, Arteta is predicted to make several changes to his team, with Nwaneri, Sousa and Walters all in line to feature. They have clearly earned the trust of the Gunners boss, who has lavished the trio with praise.
"Three big prospects. We want to bring a lot of players from a system and they deserve to be here. They’re still really really young but we want to get them the experience because they have the talent hopefully to be very close to us," he said.
"We’ll try to give them the opportunity if we can in the right moment. Obviously it gets harder and harder, so the talent has to be really good and and you have to find and build the space in the squad to give that talent an opportunity.
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"We should not forget that because it's a big part of what we want to do in the future. And especially when you have it, you cannot let it go. I think we have some good space and good talent to develop in the environment.
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Mikel Arteta has compared Arsenal youngster Ethan Nwaneri to Jack Wilshere (Getty Images)"I think on TV, it looks easier. If one day we give them a chance to train with the boys, they will probably realise that the level is really, really high. The competition is huge, because we can pick players from anywhere in the world and we have the ability to do that."
Nwaneri in particular has impressed, earning his debut last season and scoring five goals in five games for Arsenal's under-18s side this term. That has led Arteta to draw a comparison between the youngster and iconic academy graduate Jack Wilshere.
"There’s something unique that he’s got that I really liked from the beginning, his ability to take the ball in tight areas and to escape a little bit like Jack Wilshere used to do. The personality he has, he trains with us like he trains with the under-18s or under-16s and I love that in a player," he added.
"He’s got that bit between his teeth as well that he wants to show every single day how good he is and to impress people. When you have someone like that, you have to give him hope and as well it was a really important moment for us.
"We really wanted to keep him and I think it was a strange sign for him that this is his place for him to develop. It is early days, but we need to get the machine going because we want more of those and we have to produce more of those.
"There’s a lot of work going into the academy and that’s big credit to all of them every single day for the amount of work that they’re putting in. They do a lot, they’ve planted the seeds and now we need to bring them up."