Even before a ball was kicked against Paris Saint-Germain, a lot of Arsenal fans were calling for Ethan Nwaneri to start ahead of Martin Odegaard.
Odegaard is Mikel Arteta’s captain, someone he was never going to drop, but the Arsenal midfielder is seriously out of form.
The Norwegian had some nice moments in Paris and his industry without the ball was pretty incredible at times, but his end product seems to have deserted him right now.
Odegaard was finding himself in clever pockets on the edge of PSG’s box time and time again, but he simply couldn’t forge a goalscoring opportunity.
That being said, Arsenal had Nwaneri watching on from the bench, who didn’t actually play a single minute at the Parc des Princes.
Gary Lineker gives his Ethan Nwaneri theory
Before the game, Micah Richards wanted Nwaneri to get a chance in France — he believed that the youngster could make a difference.
Likewise, Arsenal fans are furious that Nwaneri didn’t play, especially given that Odegaard was struggling once again.
That considered, Gary Lineker discussed Nwaneri not being introduced on ‘The Rest Is Football’ podcast.
Lineker spoke about Arteta’s substitutions, highlighting that he was simply rotating his defenders despite chasing the game.
And then the pundit shared his theory as to why Arteta held Nwaneri back.
Lineker said: “Yeah, I mean, to the people he brought on, even though they were trailing with defenders, weren’t they? Ben White and Calafiori.
“Nwaneri you thought may have got a little run at it at some point, but maybe he thinks he’s not quite ready for that big occasion yet. He’s still a very young, young man.”
Arsenal fans need to trust Mikel Arteta
Of course, Arteta should be trusted to know what’s best for Arsenal’s youngsters — he’s done a superb job of bringing Myles Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri through thus far.
And it was evident that Lewis-Skelly somewhat struggled on the big stage for Arsenal for the first time in Paris.
The 18-year-old was still excellent at times but he didn’t deliver the flawless performance that Arsenal fans have often been treated to.
Riccardo Calafiori’s introduction was needed, a more experienced head who did really well when he came on.
And given that Nwaneri is slightly behind Lewis-Skelly in terms of minutes and readiness, it’s understandable why Arteta chose to protect the youngster somewhat.
