Mikel Arteta says Arsenal have a top youngster in their ranks who's now 'ready to make the next step'

Arsenal have gone from strength to strength in recent years and are now regular Premier League title challengers.

Mikel Arteta has well and truly cleaned house at the Emirates Stadium and now has a squad full of world-class talents who also boast the right character.

In addition, Arsenal are making a name for themselves as a club that gives youth a chance, with several academy stars having shone at N5 in recent years.

Bukayo Saka is obviously the standout candidate from Hale End, but the likes of Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe also had solid spells at Arsenal.

Now, a new generation is coming through, and Arteta has spoken about an academy graduate who is now “ready to make the next step”.

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Mikel Arteta says Fabio Vieira was loaned out to help create room for Ethan Nwaneri at Arsenal

The talent in question is Ethan Nwaneri, who is showing signs of living up to his massive potential after breaking a big Premier League record in 2022.

Nwaneri came on for the closing moments of Arsenal’s 3-0 win at Brentford in September 2022 at the age of 15 years and 181 days to make him the youngest ever Premier League player.

Now 17, Nwaneri has already clocked up 13 competitive appearances for Arsenal and has scored four goals along the way.

Arteta, speaking ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Fulham, explained how Nwaneri is so talented that Fabio Vieira was loaned out partly to clear the path for the youngster.

“We allowed Fabio to go as well (as Smith Rowe) because we wanted to create the room and the space for Ethan,” he told the Evening Standard.

“He has given us every reason to trust him. He’s shown that he’s ready to make the next step and it’s great to have him.”

What Bukayo Saka has said about Ethan Nwaneri future

Nwaneri has been making waves at Arsenal and surely it won’t be long before he becomes an established Premier League and international star.

Saka also has high hopes for Nwaneri, recently saying his young teammate is a brilliant talent headed for the top of the game.

Saka was asked on Amazon Prime Video Sport whether he saw himself as a role model for Nwaneri, and potentially someone he can come to.

“Yeah 100 percent,” said Saka. “I feel I have to make myself available for him if he needs to speak to me. I try to do that of course.

“Ethan is a really top talent and I believe in him and I think he’s going to go to the top.”