Young Gun: Ethan Nwaneri

Throughout the season, we catch up with our young Gunners in the matchday programme to find out more about their route to our academy. This week, Ethan Nwaneri discusses being starstruck by Jack Wilshere, making his senior debut, and solving problems in a high-pressure environment.

Growing up as a Gooner, it was always a dream of mine to play for this club. I grew up near to the stadium in Islington and all of my family are Arsenal fans too. I’ve always been Arsenal at heart, but my journey actually started at Chelsea. I was there with my teammate Myles Lewis-Skelly too, so it’s quite cool that we’ve pretty much always played together at youth level for both club and country. I moved around at Chelsea, Tottenham and West Ham, but then I signed for Arsenal when I was nine and from there, I’ve progressed through the pathway and loved every minute of it. 

Jack Wilshere was always my favourite player growing up, so it’s kind of crazy to think that he’s my under-18s coach now. I couldn’t believe it when I found out and if I’m being completely honest, I was actually quite starstruck in the first few training sessions! I’m only young, but that was a real moment for me to appreciate and reflect on how far I’ve come already to be able to get an opportunity like that. 

When I look back on my time at Hale End, I’ve got so many special memories, but one thing that really stands out to me is the Florida trip at under-14s. It was a great experience to play against some of the best youth teams from all around the world and I remember we were all staying at the same hotel too. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. I reckon one day I’ll be able to look back on the players that were playing in that tournament and see some really good careers. 

Since moving to London Colney, I feel like I’ve developed so much as a player and as a person too, and I’m so thankful that my hard work was rewarded in the way that every young Arsenal fan dreams about; making my debut for the first team. In the build-up to that game against Brentford I’d been training with the first team quite a lot and the one thing I kept telling myself was to always be ready. I can’t say I expected it, but I was ready. 

When I was sat on the bench, I was watching the game closely and just trying to think about how I could make an impact if I’m given the opportunity. But that feeling of actually being called over, nothing compares. I was so excited to just get out there. I didn’t even know that I was making history at the time, that was news to me after the game. It was such a proud moment and of course I had to enjoy it, but my family play such an important part in keeping me grounded and reminded me that this is just the start.

I had my GCSEs and an England camp straight after the game too, which meant that I had to stay disciplined and focused and I didn’t have too much time to think about everything that happened. There were a lot of things going on in my life that helped to keep my feet on the floor. 

Since then, I’ve had some really valuable conversations with Mikel and his staff about where I need to improve and what I need to add to my game. They’ve been so helpful with talking about the smaller details and also giving me guidance on how I can reach the physical level required to play first-team football. I’ve played up age groups throughout all of my time at Hale End and Colney and I feel like that’s helped me to adapt physically to training. It’s all about the finer details if I want to improve and I feel like I’m in the best environment possible to identity and work on them.

"It's a different pressure when you come into the first team. You have to get up to speed quickly."

I was given the chance to join the first-team out in Dubai for their training camp last week and that was a great experience for me. There’s so much for me to learn every single day just by being in that environment and when I compare under-23s football to the first team, the one thing that stands out above everything else is the intensity and speed of everything. You need to move quicker, make decisions quicker, pass quicker and give the manager what he’s demanding from you. It’s a different pressure when you come into the first team, so you have to get up to speed quickly or you won’t last. 

I love the challenge of being in an environment like that. I love being tested and I enjoy the fact that everything doesn’t work all the time. I have to solve problems by myself, in my mind and with my feet, and that’s something I really enjoy about football at the highest level.

When you step into the first-team as a youngster, it’s really important to find a balance between working hard to show what you can do, but also trusting your ability and playing your natural game. I’m just trying to play how I usually play and be myself, but I also need to find solutions when things aren’t working because not everything is going to work. I’m still really young and I have a lot to improve on, so it’s all about dealing with those problems and finding an answer. 

When I think about playing my best football, I would say I’m usually playing as one of the two pocket players, either as the 8 or 10. They’re my best positions and it’s where I feel most comfortable and confident because I’m on the ball and I have the chance to progress and drive play forward. I love playing alongside Myles in the midfield, I feel like we really complement each other in terms of our style of play and I think everyone can see we have a great connection on the pitch. 

We’ve obviously got great chemistry because we’ve known each other for so many years and I feel like we communicate really well. I’m grateful to play with someone of his quality and to be training alongside him with the first-team in Dubai. It was another really valuable experience for me and I feel like I’ve had a strong first half of the season, but now I’ve got to keep this intensity up because I’m hungry for more opportunities and I’ve got so much to learn. There’s no better place for me to do it than right here.

This interview appeared in the Arsnal v Crystal Palace matchday programme, which you can purchase online now