Martin Keown is concerned that Arsenal may be relying too heavily on Ethan Nwaneri due to their growing injury crisis.
The 17-year-old has had an impressive breakthrough season with his childhood club, and his performances could even earn him a spot in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad. However, injuries to key players like Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, and Gabriel Martinelli have forced Mikel Arteta to play Nwaneri more frequently than he might have preferred.
Originally a central midfielder, Nwaneri has performed well as a right winger in Saka’s absence, but Keown worries that the youngster is being overburdened. Speaking to talkSPORT, he praised the emergence of young talents like Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly but expressed concern over the demands placed on Nwaneri, stating, “We’re asking too much of him to fill in for such an extended period while Saka is unavailable, and I don’t think you can plan for that.”
Arsenal faces Nottingham Forest tonight, following their disappointing home defeat to West Ham. With an 11-point gap behind league leaders Liverpool, their hopes of winning a first league title in over two decades are fading.
Scoring goals has been a major issue for Arteta’s side in the absence of so many attacking players. Keown believes that midfielders like Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard need to step up.
He pointed out that Arsenal’s situation is similar to Liverpool losing Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Díaz, and Cody Gakpo simultaneously, which would be a significant blow to any team. He also highlighted that last season, Arsenal scored 53 goals during a strong run of 16 wins in 18 matches. The plan this season was to succeed without signing a new striker, but that approach has backfired, especially with injuries piling up.
Keown noted that even before the injury crisis, Arsenal lacked a clinical striker. With suspensions and key players like Ødegaard and Saka missing for extended periods, the team has struggled to create enough chances. Reflecting on their recent performance against West Ham, he argued that it didn’t matter who played up front—even a legendary striker like Thierry Henry wouldn’t have scored due to the lack of quality chances being created.