Arsenal risk losing wonderkid as Chelsea and Man City move in

Tom Hancock

• 14 Jun 2023 20:26 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea and Manchester City are among the clubs sniffing around teenage Arsenal star Ethan Nwaneri.

The midfielder became the youngest player in Premier League history when Mikel Arteta brought him off the bench against Brentford for his first – and, so far, only – senior appearance early last season, aged just 15 years and 181 days.

But despite that history-making debut, Nwaneri, who turned 16 in March, could well leave the Gunners this summer.

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According to The Athletic, the England U17 international is not expected to extend his stay at the Emirates Stadium.

The report names Chelsea and Man City as potential suitors of Nwaneri – who joined Arsenal at the age of nine and was playing for the Gunners’ U18 side by the time he was 14.

Manchester United are also said to be keeping tabs on Nwaneri – who helped England reach the quarter-finals of the recent European Under-17 Championship – where he scored the winner in his side’s tournament-opening victory over Croatia.

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Nwaneri's next step to take him away from Arteta?

It seems likely, then, that Arsenal will see a prodigious young talent join one of their top-flight rivals in the not-too-distant future, then – which will doubtless come as a great disappointment to Arteta, who has been full of praise for Nwaneri. Speaking after handing him his debut last September, the Gunners manager said:

“It was a pure gut feeling: I met the kid and I liked what I saw.

“…I think it sends a strong message about who we are as a club…He is ready. When he went on, I said ‘congratulations and enjoy it’.

"I don’t know what it is. When I met him – when I looked at him – I had that feeling.”