Mikel Arteta has allayed injury fears over Ethan Nwaneri following Arsenal’s damaging Premier League defeat by West Ham.
The highly-rated teenager started on the right of an attack led by Mikel Merino for the injury-hit Gunners in Saturday’s London derby at the Emirates Stadium, but was part of a blunt display as Jarrod Bowen’s close-range header before half-time condemned the hosts to a costly 1-0 loss that is likely to have dealt a major blow to their title hopes.
There was some concern and confusion among fans after Nwaneri was brought off with just under 10 minutes to play against West Ham despite Arsenal chasing an elusive late equaliser, with out-of-form Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling sent on in his place.
The versatile 17-year-old is enjoying a tremendous breakthrough campaign in north London with seven goals to his name, though is being asked to play a lot amid Arsenal’s ongoing injury issues that sees them remain without Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli for now and also missing the likes of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus for the rest of the season.
Nwaneri himself missed a few weeks of action last month after sustaining a muscle issue after scoring against Brighton, but Arteta has now confirmed that the teenager is not set for another spell on the sidelines.
“It was just fatigue, I think,” Arteta told reporters when asked about Nwaneri going off late against West Ham.
Arteta was furious after Arsenal’s first home league defeat of the season that saw them miss the chance to cut down Liverpool’s title advantage to five points after the leaders drew at Aston Villa in midweek.
Instead the Reds could now move 11 points clear of their closest rivals with only 11 matches remaining this season if they manage to beat Manchester City in a high-profile clash at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
However, an angry Arteta declined to put the blame for such an ineffective performance on Arsenal’s ongoing injury woes.
“I refuse that completely because I am talking about the standards of the players and the team that we played today, me included 100 per cent, were nowhere near the levels that we have to hit to have the opportunity to win a Premier League game today,” the Spaniard said.
“We were very consistent, yes, but football is about what you do today and today, it was nowhere near.”
