Mikel Arteta has told his young Gunners they have to dream really big. After all, when the Arsenal manager was a kid at Barcelona, there were bunk beds racked full of young talent each night trying to out-dream each other. But he has excitingly declared the three youngsters who have travelled to Holland each “deserve” their call-ups.
With Arsenal guaranteed top spot with the Dutch side behind them, Mikel Arteta has packed the plane with kids to give them an experience he hopes he can lean on in the years ahead. That includes three relative unknowns – Ethan Nwaneri, Lionel Sousa and Reuell Walters.
And don’t tell the latter there is nothing at stake in the dead rubber Champions League group game against PSV. London-born Nwaneri, still only 16, who played against Brentford in the Premier League as a 15-year-old, could become Arsenal’s youngest ever Champions League player.
The attacking midfielder is expected to come on if the situation is right late in the game. From Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere to Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe, Arsenal has a rich tradition of nurturing players from the academy to the first team on the back of cameo appearances in Europe.
Arteta, more than anybody, knows the importance, as he says, of “keeping that machine cranking”, having grown up himself in the Barcelona academy.
He explained: “When I was in La Masia – we were staying in bunkbeds. It was Pepe Reina, Victor Valdes, Andres Iniesta, Thiago Motta, Puyol and myself. So there was huge competition living in that room already.
“We were like little brothers living together, but the competition was fearless and that’s probably what made us after. So when we had to compete we were ready.
“It’s very tough to put youngsters in the environment where they are close to what they’ll need to compete on the pitch. But these are three big prospects. We want to keep developing players from our system. They deserve to be here.”
Arteta added of Nwaneri: “Something unique that he’s got that I really liked from the beginning is his ability to take the ball in tight areas, to escape a little bit like Jack Wilshere used to do.
“The personality he has he trains with us like he trains with the under 18s, under 16s. And I love that in a player. He’s got that thing between his teeth as well that he wants to show every single day how good he is and impress people.
“When you have someone like that you have to give him hope and as well. It was a really important moment for us because we really wanted to keep him. I think it (making his Premier League debut) was a strong sign for him that this was his place to keep developing.”
