Ethan Nwaneri Advises Arsenal's Academy Players

Ethan Nwaneri’s Top Tips for Arsenal Academy Stars: Patience, Hard Work & Big Dreams

Ethan Nwaneri knows exactly what it’s like to be a teenager at Hale End dreaming of the Emirates Stadium lights. Now, with a new Arsenal contract in his pocket and 37 senior appearances under his belt, the 18-year-old forward took a moment to speak directly to the next wave of academy hopefuls.

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Following an electric breakout season, Nwaneri’s voice carries weight around London Colney. And while his journey has been fuelled by hard work and patience, he’s eager for the youngsters to understand the importance of pacing themselves and keeping their ambition alive.

“Keep patient and have goals in your head,” he told Arsenal’s official website. “When you're at Hale End, the next target is to get to the Sobha Realty Training Centre. And when you're there, it’s to get in the under-21s.

“Then the first thing was to keep patient, keep working hard every day at your craft, and have the long-term vision in the back of your head, but be ready when it comes.”

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That readiness, he believes, is what separates those who get a taste of first-team football from those who truly stick around. With eight youngsters joining Arsenal’s pre-season tour this summer, the opportunity for them to absorb lessons from someone like Nwaneri has never been greater.

He admits the spotlight comes with a responsibility. “It's a good pressure that [the academy players] are going to be watching you, so you need to show them the right things.

“It means a lot that the young generation is looking up to me now because when I was their age, I was looking up to the Hale End graduates and the Arsenal players in general.”

The inspiration he drew from figures such as Reiss Nelson, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles still shapes his mindset today. “You don’t compare, but you’ve shared something, like a moment. They've been where you've been, and you're trying to get to where they are.”

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For Arsenal’s next batch of Hale End talent, that path is well-worn but still challenging. And if they take Nwaneri’s words to heart, they might find themselves following his route - from academy prospect to first-team regular - with the same composure and hunger that has defined his young career so far.