Per Mertesacker has hailed the broader affect that got here with Ethan Nwaneri making his full Arsenal debut aged 15 years and 181 days towards Brentford.
Nwaneri was introduced on as a late substitute within the 3-0 victory on 18 September, making him the youngest participant to debut in Arsenal historical past and breaking Harvey Elliott’s document because the Premier League’s youngest debutant within the course of.
Mertesacker, who has managed Arsenal’s academy since retiring from enjoying in 2018, has spoken concerning the debut and praised the optimistic knock-on impact it has had across the membership.
“I’ve to say how a lot it trickled down,” he advised Arsenal’s official web site. “I’ve seen movies of the under-9, under-10 squads cheering Ethan on at Hale Finish when he got here on.
“Gamers that will begin the identical journey as he did, within the grassroots academy, had been cheering him on. So hastily he has been escalated to be a job mannequin and a optimistic affect for younger gamers.”
The German additionally praised Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta for the ‘highly effective message’ Nwaneri’s debut despatched and additional defined: “It’s simply good to see, that’s what we’re happy with, that we are able to present development, that we are able to present pathways.
“It was a really proud second, to begin with for himself and his household. It’s a mirrored image as effectively of what this membership is about, what the academy is about.
“Quite a lot of kids coming into the academy have the dream of enjoying for Arsenal Soccer Membership and he made that dream come true. It was a proud second for us as an academy.”
