Theo Walcott has warned Mikel Arteta that Ethan Nwaneri may not be ‘ready’ to start in midfield should Martin Odegaard be ruled out of Arsenal’s north London derby clash with Spurs.
Arsenal are eager to return to winning ways after dropping points last time out against Brighton but Arteta could be without a number of his key players at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Declan Rice misses the contest following his controversial sending off versus the Seagulls and injury concerns have been stacking up for the Gunners, with Mikel Merino, Gabriel Jesus, Riccardo Calafiori, Takehiro Tomiyasu and captain Odegaard all nursing problems.
While academy product Nwaneri has made just two substitute appearances in two seasons for Arsenal, there have been some calls for the 17-year-old to be given the nod in the middle of the park.
Arteta has spoken highly of Nwaneri on several occasions and Arsenal’s hierarchy believe the teenager could develop into a first-team star over the coming years.
However, former Arsenal and England forward Walcott has major reservations about throwing the England Under-19 international into such a high-pressure game at such an early stage of his career.
‘Odegaard is the conductor in the team and you would have to ask a lot for him [Nwaneri] to keep this team ticking,’ Walcott told The Arsenal Way.
‘I would probably expect [Kai] Havertz to drop back into that role and Gabriel Jesus to start up front, that’s probably what I would see.
‘I wouldn’t expect Nwaneri to start in that position. I think he’s one of those that likes to come inside, that’s fine, but to start in a derby when you’ve got a lot of players out… I’m not quite sure yet if he’s ready for that.
‘But of course he can make an impact because when I came through, I was used as a bit of an impact player at first just to find my feet and it worked.’
Walcott hopes Arsenal fans ‘take a step back’ and allow Nwaneri to develop at his own pace.
‘When you have that as a player, eventually, yes, you do need to take the next step when the manager gives you an opportunity and actually go for it, but I just don’t think this is the right timing right now,’ Walcott continued.
‘But he had a great pre-season, great kid, good athlete, but it’s one of those where we just need to take a step back, which we won’t because I know that from being on the other side of it, and just let this guy develop.
‘He’s got a good thing going for him: he’s got a young manager, loads of new ideas that you can relate to the modern player and that’s going to do him well.’
Given Arsenal’s injury concerns, Walcott feels Sunday’s match could be Arteta’s ‘biggest test’ yet since taking over the reins as manager.
‘This is the journey and this is a test that Mikel hasn’t really faced as an Arsenal manager, having a lot of players out, particularly at the same time,’ he went on.
‘He has had players out, of course, but players you would say haven’t been starters, I suppose. Maybe [Thomas] Partey was the exception.
‘But this will be the biggest test for Mikel as a manager, to see if his squad is good enough to win this league because that’s the difference with Manchester City, their bench is good enough to win the league.
‘This is where Mikel is going to be tested, this is where those players that have waited for their opportunity to be that player, they want to be that player and want to be in the starting line-up.
‘There’s an expectation for every player that plays at Arsenal, I get that, but I just feel, now, that this is the biggest test and it’s nice to have it right at the start of the season.’
