What next for Arsenal’s Nwaneri after season of frustration?

Ethan Nwaneri had a breakout season last term when the Arsenal forward deputised so impressively for the injured Bukayo Saka.

He played mostly on the right wing and scored nine goals in 37 appearances in all competitions to mark himself out as one of England’s most talented young players.

Nwaneri, now 18, also became the second-youngest goalscorer in Champions League history when he netted against Girona last January at 17 years and 314 days old – only Jude Bellingham did so at a younger age.

The England Under-21 forward is the youngest player to feature in the Premier League thanks to a debut against Brentford at the age of 15 years and 181 days in September 2022.

So, as well as those admirable performances in 2024-25, it also feels as though Nwaneri has been on the first-team scene for a long time.

Yet this season, his involvement has been limited.

Nwaneri has made 11 appearances in all competitions, starting just three times across matches in the Carabao Cup and Champions League. He has played just 446 minutes and has scored one goal.

The Gunners spent about £250m bringing in eight players over the summer to increase the depth in their squad, with Martin Zubimendi, Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze and even the younger Noni Madueke ‘win now signings’.

It has worked, with Arsenal five points clear at the top of the Premier League and with a perfect record in the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta’s side have won 23, drawn four and lost just two of their 29 matches and if they beat Liverpool in the league on Thursday, they will be eight points clear of Manchester City.

It is not only Nwaneri who has seen less game time this season – the same also goes for fellow academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Lewis-Skelly also took his chance during Arsenal’s injury crisis last season, making 42 appearances in all competitions including in both games of the Champions League quarter-final win over Real Madrid.

The full-back’s performances were so good that he was given an England debut by Thomas Tuchel, scoring against Albania in a 2-0 win.

But like Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly has stalled this season, starting just one Premier League game.

That is down to the fitness and form of Riccardo Calafiori, who has been excellent at left-back, and the signing of the equally versatile Piero Hincapie on loan with the option to buy for about £45m.

Both Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly signed new five-year deals in the summer as they committed their future to their boyhood club following breakthrough seasons.

Nwaneri’s future was under more discussion, before he signed the contract that will keep him in north London until 2030.

Sources have told BBC Sport there was interest in the midfielder from Borussia Dortmund – and there were also reports linking him to Chelsea – before Nwaneri signed his new deal.

It is understood Nwaneri is fully committed to succeeding at Arsenal and that if there was any chance of him leaving it would have been in the summer during discussions about his contract.

With the January window open and Nwaneri’s lack of game time, there has been speculation about whether he will go out on loan.

That is not something being considered by either the club or the player, with the feeling that Nwaneri will learn more by being around a title challenge and training with players such as Saka, Eze and Martin Odegaard than going elsewhere for more minutes.

Nwaneri’s taste of regular minutes last season has raised his expectations, but having to fight for game time at a club like Arsenal has not surprised him.

There were discussions about Nwaneri’s pathway into the team in the summer as part of the talks to conclude his new contract.

Despite Nwaneri being able to play centrally – his preferred position – and on the right is a boost to his hopes of more action, but the success of £48.5m Madueke and £67m Eze have created a lot of competition for those spots.

Arsenal play nine times in total this month – with fixtures in the Premier League, in the FA Cup against Portsmouth and in the Champions League – so there is every chance he will get game time in which to shine.