Arsenal starlet Ethan Nwaneri can’t be rushed into the England squad – but he’s in better form than Phil Foden and Jack Grealish.
That’s the view of Gunners legend Martin Keown, who has urged Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel to be cautious in handing the teenager his first senior call-up.
Tuchel names his first England squad on Friday at 9am, with the German having a huge decision to make over his attacking selections.
Nwaneri has enjoyed a stunning breakthrough season – chipping in with eight goals and one assist from 28 games in all competitions.
The 17-year-old, who hasn’t even been selected for England’s Under-21s yet, has thrived in the absence of injured right winger Bukayo Saka.
Former Watford striker Troy Deeney is adamant he has to be included, while talkSPORT presenter Adrian Durham has declared it would be a ‘sackable offence’ to leave the youngster out.
And the stats suggest that Nwaneri is deserving a spot in the squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Latvia later this month.
Nwaneri, who boasts three Premier League goals this campaign, recently became the youngest player in Champions League history to score in back-to-back matches and has often been Arsenal‘s main man in attack.
Whereas Grealish is without a top-flight goal from his 16 appearances this term, with Foden failing to score in each of his last ten outings in all competitions.
And while Keown has recognised he has outperfomed the Manchester City duo of late, he has stressed he shouldn’t be fast-tracked into the England set-up for the sake of it.
Speaking to talkSPORT.com about whether Nwaneri – and his fellow Hale End graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly – is deserving of a spot in the England squad, Keown said: “I think we’ve got to do this slowly.
“We don’t want to be pushing these players right the way through, but I’m not really seeing too many players [to get in front of Nwaneri].
“I’m looking at Grealish not playing, Foden now not at his best – he’s still a great player of course.
“Looking around for other alternatives, I don’t think Nwaneri is a million miles away.
“It may be that he plays [Under] 21s football, he’s 17 years of age, so let’s not get carried away.
“There has to be a journey, you don’t want it to be that easy.
“As I say, we’re talking about the pathway to success, the pathway to the England team as well has to be a long and winding one as well so that you really appreciate it when it comes.
“But let’s see what Tuchel does, because it’ll give us an indication of what he’s got for the future, what he’s got in mind.
“He’s got an 18-month contract and he might feel that Nwaneri is one of those players that can come into it [England squad].
“So they’ve done well, Lewis-Skelly is another one who has done well, but still a lot to learn.”
Lewis-Skelly has also been tipped for an English call-up having become a key player under Mikel Arteta – despite only making his senior debut in September.
A natural central midfielder, he has starred at left-back – often staring ahead of £38million arrival Riccardo Calafiori.
And with Newcastle’s Lewis Hall out for the rest of the season with a foot injury, it’s only Lewis-Skelly, Tottenham’s Djed Spence and Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell that are Tuchel’s remaining options.
Acknowledging this, Keown believes the 18-year-old could be rewarded for his fine form.
He remarked: “Yeah, Lewis Hall has been a bit unfortunate.”
Before adding: “There are not too many options around [to replace him], so Lewis-Skelly has got it all in front of him.
“It’s been a massive transformation to playing in the Arsenal reserves to really now every week he’s in the headlines.
“So let’s see what comes when Thomas Tuchel names his squad.”
Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly will once again be looking to impress in Sunday’s London derby against Chelsea at the Emirates in the final game before the international break.
