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Arsenal manager has revealed why Ethan Nwaneri was handed his first Premier League start against Brentford in a 3-1 win.
Arsenal youngster Ethan Nwaneri was handed hist first Premier League start against Brentford in a 3-1 win for the Gunners as he showed he more than belongs at the level.
But there was a thought of why Nwaneri was handed his start, with a virus sweeping through the team, some thought that he was handed a start purely out of necessity from Mikel Arteta.
In truth, it doesn't matter why Nwaneri was given the start, and there is a cool story to have your first Premier League start on the same ground where you made your debut, and that was the case for Nwaneri.
However, if you think that Ethan was given the start because Arteta "had to" in order to cover the losses of players who had been struck down by the virus, think again.
"That position wasn’t because of a bug, that was a decision we made because I thought he was the best player to play in the position to start the game and because there was a story there, with his debut here," Arteta said via arsenal.com. "He made his Premier League debut and sometimes that feeling comes in and you feel it’s the right one and who knows."
What was even better for Nwaneri is that he was given a chance by Arteta and goodness me, he didn't waste it.
His delivery from the right-hand side caused Brentford all sorts of problems, plus he was classy and comfortable on the ball all night. Such was his performance that there is a thought that he can be the solution to the Bukayo Saka absence with the winger out for eight weeks with a hamstring injury.
Nwaneri showed supreme confidence from the moment the first whistle blew as he regularly took on Brentford defenders and beat them, while also managing to have a good final ball as it was his delivery that set up Gabriel Martinelli's goal and Arsenal's third.
With Myles Lewis-Skelly getting all the plaudits as yet another Hale End star starting to make a name for himself, Nwaneri made sure that he wasn't forgotten and in his first league start, he was simply a joy to watch.
We hope it is the first of many Premier League games where Nwaneri sparkles for the Gunners.