Analysing the Hale Enders who played for Arsenal this season

Aarush
By afcaarush
4 Min Read

Arsenal started their cup campaign in dominant fashion, beating Bolton Wanderers 5-1 at the Emirates. A lineup that saw a mixture of youth and experienced senior players — the Gunners set the tone for what has to come their way.

The starboy of the show was 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri, as he bagged a brace and was a constant force of creativity for Arsenal. Goals from Rice, Sterling, and Havertz were the cherry on top of the cake.

Mikel Arteta’s game plan was executed in sheer perfection, as they had the League One side on the backfoot. High pressing, strong buildup patterns, and quick shifts from defence to attack had Bolton gasping for breath, which provided Arsenal the chance to exploit them in all areas.

Arteta’s youth integration + squad rotation caught everyone’s attention. With 4 academy players starting and another 4 on the bench, fans were highly impressed with how seamlessly they managed to transition with the bigger boys and swiftly blend into the setup.

Ethan Nwaneri took his opportunity and managed to ‘earn’ more minutes in the near future with his impressive performance. Simplicity of actions + rotations OTB > goes on to make things easier for teammates to technically anticipate.

In Ødegaard’s absence, Arteta needed a player to give us hints of the same footballing ability + the lethal left foot. The creativity + ball manipulation in small spaces + efficiency to resort to his dribbling prowess was much needed in the squad.

Ethan-Nwaneri-Arsenal-Stats

Myles Lewis Skelly was an absolute monster—natural duel winning, splendid passing ranges, and the composure in actions just was a cherry on top. Got the pre-assist in Nwaneri’s first goal as he creatively played a threaded through ball in Sterling’s way.

MLS’ positional understanding in inverting from LB seemed natural to him due to his functioning as a midfielder for the academy. Set the tempo from the build-up phase and defensively maximised his physicality.

Lewis-Skelly-Arsenal-Stats

Josh Nichols started from RB and proved why his stocks have been rising in the academy. A nonchalant approach indicated his risk-free football—an attacking-minded defender who can lock up opposition on the flanks with his 1v1 prowess.

One of Nichol’s most impressive attributes during the game was his responsibility and communication in the defensive line. Dominated build-up play and also managed to get higher up the pitch and combine with Saka and Nwaneri.

Jack Porter at 16 starting was a bigger statement than anything you need to know. Wasn’t called much into action during the 90 minutes, but when depended upon, he showed resilience in his passing and looked calm between the sticks. Although he conceded a goal, he couldn’t do much to stop it.

Maldini Kacurri came on the second half and was aided by Gabriel besides him. Physically imposing and decent on the ball

Ismael Kabia’s introduction was rather late and hardly got any touches, but these are important hints for players coming out of the academy that they have a part to play when depended upon.

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