Arsenal talent Ethan Nwaneri has named Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka as the two senior players who have most helped him establish himself in the Gunners’ first team this season.
Nwaneri made history in September 2022 when he made his senior debut aged just 15 years and 181 daysbecoming Arsenal’s youngest player, as well as the youngest in the English top flight.
He was so young that Nwaneri didn’t sign his first professional contract until March this year, but he has now become a permanent member of Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad. So far in the 2024/25 season, it has been 16 appearances and counting for the 17-year-old, including three starts and four goals.
Asked by Arsenal.com which first-team stars have helped ease the transition to senior football, Nwaneri said, “there’s a lot,” but went on to outline just two.
“Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka have been fantastic for me, and not only for me, but with all the young players,” he explained.
“They help us with everything, and someone like Bukayo has already had this journey. That’s very important: he knows what we’re going through, he can help me, he gives me information about what can help me. It’s really good to talk to him because he’s so quiet and humble, but I also try to observe him as much as I can and learn that way.
“Martin also played when he was 15, so to have that experience with me in the dressing room is great.”
Saka joined Arsenal as a seven-year-old and made his first-team debut at the end of 2018, a few weeks after turning 17. The winger was regular at 18 and has already scored 250 games. Odegaard was even more of a teenage prodigy, training with the first team at Stromsgodset in Norway from the age of 13 and making his debut at 15. A month after turning 16, joined Real Madridhaving had all of Europe’s leading clubs on their tail in a very public transfer pursuit.
