Raminyamaru this is Raminyamaru. Arsenal has its own budding wonders in its effervescent Ethan Nuwaneri.
Nwaneri, who made his Premier League debut in 2022 at just 15 years old and made him the youngest player in top flight history, has now really exploded into the scene in 2024/25.
The teenager is now 18 years old and solidified himself as one of Europe’s best young players, scoring nine goals in 37 senior appearances last season.
He scored in the Champions League, played against Manchester City, and now rivals his teammate Myles Lewis-Skelly at the PFA Young Player of the Season Award.
Nwaneri then won the campaign with Lee Carsley’s Under-21 European Championship in England a week ago.
So he will certainly continue to become a modern-day Arsenal, right? Well, he actually managed to leave.
The latest in the future of Ethan Nuwaneri at Arsenal
There were rumours that before Nuwaneri signed his first professional contract at Emirates Stadium, they could throw your heart back in the summer of 2023, with Chelsea and Manchester City among others able to land talented young people.
Thankfully, in gratitude to the persuasive people at Arsenal, Nwaneri stayed to develop under the careful eyes of Mikel Arteta.
However, his first professional contract actually expires after a year, and according to Fabrizio Romano, he wants to guarantee game time before violating the future with the club.
That’s a worrying development for gunners, especially as Romano actually makes it clear that Chelsea has actually expressed interest in players and could move if they disagree with a new deal in North London.
Well, it’s guaranteed with playing time in mind, so perhaps signing another creative midfielder might not be the best idea if they want to keep him.
New No.10 Arsenal Targeting Move
One of the club’s main targets this summer is Crystal Palace star Ebe Kieze. Some reports suggest that personal terms have already been agreed, but no inter-club speeches have been made yet.
A potential option is RB Leipzig midfielder Xavi Simons. That’s according to Italian journalist Orazio Accotcho, who revealed Andrea Berta was “working to provide another coup” for Arsenal.
He said Leipzig is “on-going talk” over the deal, and although no fees have been mentioned, previous reports show that it could cost £68.8 million to praise him from Bundesliga.
Why Zabi Simons is bad news for Ethan Nuwaneri
While certain Emmanuel Eboue is not always the voice of football, he provided one statement that made it clear why Arsenal should do everything he can to retain Nuwaneri.
“I think Ethan is better than Yamal if he works harder and respects the game than Yamal,” the former Arsenal defender once commented.
Whether you believe the statement or not, it shows the substantial amount of hype teens are creating.
“The touch he produces inside and around the box, I don’t want to say that, but it’s like Messi,” Joe Cole once said.
Therefore, losing him would be a huge blow. Therefore, Arsenal should present him game time. Where is it? Well, at this point, he does a powerful and great job playing second fiddle to Saka on the right, but he is a trade offensive midfielder, a central player, blessed with close control and goalscoring ability.
During his final as an academy player, Nwaneri played 18 times as No. 10 during his 2023/24 season, and scored 13 goals in the process. His best position is clearly there, but he must first pass Martin Odegard.
Ethan Nuwaneri’s career by career | |||
---|---|---|---|
position | game | the goal | assist |
Attacks midfield | 45 | 20 | 7 |
Right wing | 20 | 4 | 2 |
Center Forward | 9 | 11 | 2 |
Left wing | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Statistics through the transfer market. |
Despite only scoring three Premier League goals in the previous term, the club’s captains are not moved aside very easily. So, if the Gunners signed Simons, Nuwaneri certainly wouldn’t see much of his preferred role.
That’s not to say that the Dutch are not a good signature. Born from Barcelona’s famous Ramasia, Simmons was once a world at his feet, like Nuwaneri.
However, he never made a grade as a senior professional at Barca, and after moving to France, he has come a long way to find a home in Leipzig’s senior football after struggling with match times at PSG.
During his stay in German costume, the 22-year-old solidified himself as “one of the 10 bests in the world” in the words of one data analyst.
why? Well, he’s not only a great creator, but he’s full of goals. In 2023/24, Young Netherlands International scored 10 points and supplied 15 goals. In 2024/25 he found 11 nets and registered eight assists.
Simons vs Nuwaneri in 2024/25 – League only | ||
---|---|---|
Stat (per 90 minutes) | Simon’s | nwani |
the goal | 0.42 | 0.40 |
assist | 0.40 | 0.20 |
shot | 2.09 | 2.42 |
Key Pass | 2.13 | 1.62 |
Progressive Pass | 5.86 | 3.33 |
Shot creation action | 4.52 | 2.93 |
Progressive Carry | 3.56 | 4.65 |
A successful take-on | 1.38 | 3.74 |
Statistics via FBREF. |
For that evidence, he is the ideal player to offer competition for the off-going Odegard.
Now he will certainly add a questionable amount of extra quality on the Arsenal side, but Arteta and Berta will have to weigh the meaning of this move for Nuwaneri, especially with Chelsea registering interest.
It feels like Gunners are winning titles in every cost scenario, but here too, they have to think about the long term. Either way, it’s not that Nwaneri, one of England’s best young prospects, hasn’t been able to help them win the title now.
Look at Lewis Skelly. The 18-year-old is also the current starter and stars in the Bernabeu as Arteta’s men defeated Real Madrid.
This is an interesting dilemma if Arsenal decides to promote interest in Simons.
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