Arsenal legend Robert Pires has urged Mikel Arteta to rotate his squad and hand minutes to some of the club’s most talented young players ahead of this evening’s EFL Cup third-round trip to Preston North End.
The Gunners will be vying to recover from a couple of relative bumps in the road, having claimed just one victory from their last three fixtures.
Arsenal bounced back from their shock 2-0 defeat away at Bournemouth to claim a hard-earned point against second-placed Liverpool in a thrilling 2-2 draw on Sunday afternoon, reducing the gap between themselves and league leaders Manchester City to five points.
However, in what may just represent something of a concern for Arteta, his side have failed to win any of their last three exchanges on the road. They’ve been unable to return to the Emirates Stadium with all three points since claiming a slender 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in September’s edition of the North London Derby, although this evening’s trip to Preston is a sure-fire opportunity to return to winning ways away from home.
The Gunners aren’t at full strength heading into their trip to Deepdale.
Arsenal are competing on all fronts this term and will surely be targeting another cup run, having trounced Bolton Wanderers in an emphatic 5-1 victory in the second-round to set up tonight’s tie at Deepdale.
Preston will host the Gunners off the back of an inconsistent run of recent form in the Championship, where they’ve struck a five-match unbeaten run while only winning twice.
Robert Pires’ Mikel Arteta advice on Ethan Nwaneri ahead of Arsenal v PNE
Former Gunners star Pires, who is widely considered among the finest players to ever represent the North London outfit, has weighed in with some selection advice to Arteta ahead of this evening’s showdown in Lancashire.
Tuning into the general mood among supporters, Pires is eager to see younger talents such as Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly feature against Preston, which he believes presents the perfect opportunity to entrust the duo.
Aged 17 and 18 respectively, they’ve both been used sparingly in league action thus far but received starting berths in the aforementioned victory over Bolton, where Nwaneri – who remains the youngest player in Premier League history after making his debut against Brentford as a 15-year-old two years ago – scored a stunning brace to mark his first goals for the club.
| Ethan Nwaneri’s stats for Arsenal against Bolton Wanderers, as per FotMob | |
| Minutes played | 90′ |
| Goals | 2 |
| xG | 0.63 |
| Chances created | 2 |
| Successful dribbles | 1 |
Ahead of the clash, Pires said: via Football London: “Preston is a perfect game to give minutes to Ethan Nwaneri, Lewis Miles-Skelly and other youngsters in the team.
“Mikel Arteta needs to rest the spine of the team. With the injuries against Liverpool, I’m very confident he will field a heavily-rotated side, especially with Newcastle coming up on the weekend.
“This is Nwaneri’s time to show he’s the back up to Martin Odegaard, of course.
“Arsenal’s tradition is to bring youth into the starting XI, and they need these games to make that step.”
Ethan Nwaneri can make Mikel Arteta point against Preston North End
Arteta has largely been apprehensive about throwing his young guns into the thick of Premier League action, but fans are desperate to see Nwaneri afforded regular opportunities sooner rather than later.
A starring display against Championship opposition, then, could well strengthen the young starlet’s chances of becoming a more frequent fixture under the Spaniard, and it’s an opportunity he needs to grab with both hands – if it comes his way, of course.
Nwaneri possesses extreme talent and potential, and games like this are where he simply must vindicate the hype which surrounds his name.
