Premier League rivals have already tried to sign Arsenal wonderkid Ethan Nwaneri

Ethan Nwaneri is quickly becoming a hero to Arsenal fans, but it could all have been very different as Manchester City tried to sign him in 2023. The 17-year-old has been thoroughly impressive this season as he has been given more regular opportunities to shine during Arsenal’s injury struggles.

The versatile forward has made 15 Premier League appearances this season, four of which have come in the starting XI, and scored three goals. He also netted three times in the Gunners’ Carabao Cup campaign and has scored his first Champions League goal as he becomes a fixture in Mikel Arteta’s match day squads.

Nwaneri first burst into the public’s consciousness back in September 2022 when Arteta made headlines by throwing him on as a substitute in a Premier League win over Brentford. The youngster was just 15 years and 181 days old at the time and became the Premier League’s youngest ever player and Arsenal’s youngest in any competition in the club’s history.

That early appearance attracted the attention of Manchester City, with the Premier League champions becoming interested in the teenage star. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reports in GIVEMESPORT report that ‘discussions took place in the background’ but Arsenal were able to convince Nwaneri to stay in north London.

He then went on to sign his first professional contract with the club in March 2024 when he had turned 17. Playing regularly in the Premier League before his 18th birthday and earning rave reviews, it looks like he made the right choice to stay at the Emirates.

Legendary Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has compared Nwaneri to the man who had previously been the club’s youngest ever player, Cesc Fabregas. On the similarities between the current and former Gunners stars, Wenger told beIN SPORTS: ‘Nwaneri is more a creator of the final ball through his dribbling and the quality of his passes.

‘Fabregas was very strong mentally but this boy looks like he is as well. ‘When I look at him and his maturity, it’s difficult for me to think that he’s 17 years old. The sign of a special talent is that they are ready early.’. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video.

Up Next. Nwaneri stood out again for Arsenal as they beat Leicester on Saturday, with Arteta saying he was on a different level to his teammates in terms of causing problems for the opposition. ‘Every time he was on the ball he made things happen,’ said the Spaniard. ‘You could see that he had another level of threat to the rest of the team.’.

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