Minutes play not long indeed. The player who plays as an attacking midfielder was only entered in the 90th minute.
The decision to enter the player is not a matter of trial and error. Manager Mikel Arteta admits he has seen it several times in training. So he chose to give the player a chance to play.
That's why Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka encouraged the club to keep Nwaneri. According to the player who is 15 years older than Nwaneri, Nwaneri has a bright future.
Can Be Brighter
Arsenal is not without orbiting players when he was young. One that is very historic is of course Cesc Fabregas when he debuted at the age of only 16 years.
However, Xhaka asked Nwaneri to keep working hard. Only then will his bright future be revealed.
"Of course they [Arsenal] have to protect him [Nwaneri] because he is still very young. If he continues like this with his hard work, he will have a bright and big future," he told CBS Sport.
Proud of Quality
Xhaka conveyed how proud Arsenal are to have a young player with such potential. The pride is not excessive because from his point of view, Nwaneri is a quality person.
"I'm on my coaching license and I've coached the Under-16s. Because of that I can see a big difference between him and other players his age. He is very special," he said.
“Just imagine a club having a 15-year-old player….yes, 15 years younger than me. But of course the club can be proud of a player like him."
Targeted by Big Teams
A number of reports are now starting to mention that Nwaneri is the target of big teams in England. With his young age and not yet bound by a professional contract, it is certainly easy to seize it.
However, Arsenal will reportedly not stand still if the big teams have officially moved closer to Nwaneri. Arsenal reportedly will not be willing to let go of the young gem.