In recent years, Arsenal have made a real name for themselves as a club that gives youth a chance.
Bukayo Saka is arguably the biggest name to graduate from the Hale End setup to the Arsenal squad in recent years, but he’s by no means the only one.
The likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah all did well for Arsenal and are still playing Premier League football elsewhere.
More recently, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly have broken into the Gunners first-team setup and are playing at the highest possible level.
Nwaneri has been starting more often since Saka’s injury, but when the latter returns, it remains to be seen whether Nwaneri will still be starting as much.
BBC Sport pundit Nedum Onuoha has now given his thoughts on what will happen with Nwaneri when Saka returns to fitness for Arsenal.
Nedum Onuoha would be surprised if Ethan Nwaneri lost his Arsenal starting spot
Onuoha appears confident that Nwaneri will not lose his starting spot when Saka comes back, saying he’d be surprised if he ended up on the bench.
The BBC pundit also feels Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly can make the next England squad, as they’re good enough for it.
When asked about the Arsenal duo being called up for England, Onuoha told BBC Sport: “You’d like to think so.
“Obviously they are young and they’ve got many, many years ahead of them, but if they are good enough now then why not consider them?
On Nwaneri, he said: “He’s such a star, I’d be very surprised if he spends a lot of time on the bench after (Bukayo) Saka comes back.
“Every chance he will find to be in that team and make a big difference.”
The next big name coming through the ranks at Arsenal
Rio Ferdinand has named another Arsenal youngster who looks like he’ll become a star in years to come.
The Premier League legend, speaking on the latest episode of the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, spoke highly of Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly after the 7-1 win over PSG.
Ferdinand then urged people to watch out for Max Dowman, saying “it’ll be worth your wait” when he makes his breakthrough in the next few years.
“You saw Ethan Nwaneri, 17 years old,” Ferdinand told Darren Fletcher on the show.
“Only four players scored in a knockout game under 18 years old and he’s one of them now.”
Ferdinand went on to say: “Hale End, Arsenal, they’re churning out some kids now. Lewis-Skelly, young kid, and Nwaneri we just talked about.
“They’ve got another kid called Max Dowman, oh you must have seen him play against your boy.
“Oh, if you not know about Max Dowman guys, wait and it’ll be worth your wait to watch this kid play football.”
