New role for Ethan Nwaneri must mean a braver Arsenal

Arsenal handing Ethan Nwaneri a new contract is one thing, but a new role for the gifted 18-year-old must make Mikel Arteta's team braver on the ball going forward.

It's surprising so many Arsenal fans are against the pending arrival of Noni Madueke, when the Chelsea winger can help make two of the Gunners' best young players even better. Having Madueke work either flank will let Gabriel Martinelli spend more time at striker, but the more exciting change involves Ethan Nwaneri.

Arsenal's brightest young thing is on the cusp of a big payday, but the bigger news involves Mikel Arteta's plan for the Hale End sensation. The strategy was explained by David Ornstein of The Athletic:

"He was deployed mainly on the right side of Arsenal’s attack and featured prominently when Bukayo Saka was out injured. It is expected he will soon occupy a more central role, providing competition and back-up for captain Martin Odegaard."

David Ornstein

Hooray. Finally. At last. Nwaneri's quick feet, clever footballing mind and natural flair belong in the area of the pitch where he can exert most influence over games. Slap bang in the middle of the pitch, preferably just off a new-look front line soon to be led by a natural goal-getter in the form of Viktor Gyökeres.

The Swede is the No. 9 Arteta's team has needed for too long. Somebody who can seize and convert chances with a ruthless efficiency.

Those things are essential, but an improvement in the quality of Arsenal's approach play and supply to the front will be just as important. Enter Nwaneri, who should be more than mere cover for Martin Odegaard.

He should be the playmaking partner for Arsenal's chief and too often isolated string-puller.

Time is right to move Ethan Nwaneri off the wing

Injuries and suspensions were go-to reasons for fans anxious to explain why Arteta's much trumpeted, but rarely realized, project still didn't come to fruition last season. Yet those reaching for familiar excuses missed a broader point: even at full strength, Arteta's team had become predictably functional and rather dull.

The manager's naturally conservative tendencies -- he's always been more George Graham than Arsene Wenger -- have served Arsenal well defensively. Unfortunately, those same traits have also extinguished the swashbuckling verve and enterprising creativity that were club hallmarks for over two decades on Wenger's watch.

Arteta's more pragmatic vision has reduced Arsenal to a monotonous plan in the final third. Funnel the ball right to Bukayo Saka (or Nwaneri) and hope for some individual brilliance, or else play for a set-piece. Rinse and repeat.

This policy relied on hard runners and towering headers, not astute technicians. At least none aside from an overworked skipper.

Arteta needs something different. A spark to enliven his team in attack. Step forward Nwaneri, who can join Odegaard to remind the manager of an important lesson.

Champagne players produce champagne football

You can't have magic football without players capable of producing magic, and those magicians don't conjure in a bubble. Even the best playmakers of Arsenal's modern era needed some company, like when Cesc Fabregas made something artful with the likes of Tomas Rosicky, Alexander Hleb, Samir Nasri and Andrey Arshavin.

Mesut Ozil was at his best in tandem with Alexis Sanchez and supported by Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere. It's a world apart from the lack of support around Odegaard.

Putting budding maestro Nwaneri into the same starting XI with the one creative type Arteta trusts makes sense. Especially when there's something Cazorla-esque about Nwaneri's ability to change feet, slalom through traffic and fend off intruders into the engine room with underrated play strength.

Maybe a partnership between Nwaneri and Odegaard won't work week to week, but it would put Declan Rice back into a holding role alongside more expressive defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi.

Having Nwaneri act as an inverted winger would let Arteta cheat his way into fielding four central midfielders, while Saka buzzes around Gyökeres. Either way, the artistry and craft of Nwaneri and Odegaard would be an exciting changeup from the direct running and brawn of Rice and Mikel Merino in attacking areas.

Something less defensively sure, but braver and more progressive at the business end of the pitch, where Arsenal need the goals to earn the points that will finally win another Premier League title.