Arsenal hatch 'contract plan' for player Mikel Arteta 'loves' amid impressive performances

Arsenal have a huge talent on their hands in youngster Ethan Nwaneri. The 17-year-old has burst his way into first team plans this season, racking up four league appearances so far.

An energetic midfielder, Mikel Arteta has shown a willingness to trust the youngster in big situations, most recently bringing him off the bench with the game in the balance over the weekend, the Gunners ultimately winning 4-2 after giving up a two-goal lead.

Arteta has been hugely impressed by the young midfielder, saying after the Leicester win: “You don’t feel sorry for yourself, you take ownership, you start taking more risks, everybody. Nwaneri, 17-years-old – he takes the ball, the first one is an action like this, he runs past two, three players and wants to take a shot. I just love it, you want to play here, you want to be at that level you need to play with that courage.”

Just days earlier, Arteta had said of the midfielder after his strong showing against Bolton in the Carabao Cup: “He’s improving daily. They really respect him. You can tell he’s playing without pressure, with confidence, with a way of making decisions that tells you that the boy is ready at this level. Today he had a really strong performance and I’m happy to see that.

"A lot of positives to take from it, first of all the performance and then the way we scored the goals. We gave minutes, deserved minutes to a lot of first team players that needed them. As well we had obviously very important debuts as well that make us really proud.”

New contract on the table?

On the back of all that praise, Football Transfers have claimed that Arsenal are already lining up a new contract for Nwaneri, although they will not be able to execute a new deal officially until he turns 18 on March 21, at least not at the length the Gunners are hoping for.

Players under 18 can only sign contracts lasting three years or less, and it’s reported the Gunners want to reward the midfielder with a deal lasting until 2030, meaning they will wait until he does become a legal adult, not concerned about him leaving in the meantime. It’s unclear when his current deal expires, but Nwaneri only penned his first professional deal in late March of this year.