3 reasons why Ethan Nwaneri should start against PSG

Arsenal head to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday evening and as they hope to overturn a 1-0 deficit on aggregate, Mikel Arteta must look to bring youngster Ethan Nwaneri into the team.

Fans were crying out for the Hale End graduate to be brought on in the first leg defeat, but Arteta opted to wait until second-half stoppage time to introduce him to the game. With Martin Odegaard struggling throughout and offering no creativity, that decision by the Gunners boss caused plenty of confusion among the fanbase.

Nwaneri has found minutes hard to come by in recent weeks and hasn't started a game since the 1-1 draw with Brentford at the Emirates Stadium almost a month ago. Over the past four Champions League matches, he has played just one minute and remained on the bench in both victories over Real Madrid, and the home tie against PSV Eindhoven.

It would certainly be a risk to throw a young and inexperienced player into the side for such a crucial game but there are three reasons why Ethan Nwaneri should start against PSG.

1. Odegaard's struggles

Martin Odegaard has consistently struggled to have an impact on the team's attacking output over the past weeks and that was never more clear in the first leg defeat to PSG. The skipper failed to offer anything creative before being replaced by Nwaneri in the closing stages.

He looked to have shown improvement in the weekend's 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth as he assisted Declan Rice for the opener with a well-executed disguised pass. However, his influence faded as the game went on and he was guilty of poor marking when he lost a wrestling match with Evanilson, allowing the striker to knock in the winner for the Cherries.

Arsenal are going to need a serious creator in midfield as they look to break down a resilient and solid PSG team, but it doesn't look like Odegaard can manage that. With the Norwegian really struggling, Nwaneri could be the player to come in and provide what the Gunners need.

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