According to Charles Watts, the Arsenal wonderkid Ethan Nwaneri is now a vital member of the first squad, and his rise played a major role in the Gunners’ decision to let Fabio Vieira leave this summer. For his most recent Daily Briefing column, Watts spoke exclusively to CaughtOffside. He revealed that Nwaneri has pleased Mikel Arteta and his coaching staff, persuading them that he is now prepared to play regularly for the senior team.
Following the injury to team captain Martin Odegaard, Nwaneri appears to be expected to play even more minutes; nevertheless, it appears that this injury also affected the club’s decision-making during the summer transfer window. But Nwaneri arguably already appears to be an improvement over Vieira, so that bold decision was entirely warranted.
Nwaneri’s rise is bad news for £34m flop
With great expectations because of his price tag, Portuguese star Fabio Vieira signed a £34 million deal with Arsenal in the summer of 2022. After spending his first two seasons in the capital, the midfielder, who makes £45k a week, contributed to 12 goals, but it looks as though his time with the team may be coming to an unfair conclusion.
The 24-year-old is currently back at Porto, where the Gunners purchased him, on a season-long loan, so it’s reasonable to conclude that the move didn’t work out as planned after two years. In an attempt to avoid suffering a significant loss on the transfer money they paid for him two years ago, Arteta may decide to let him go permanently. In the upcoming months, this could lead to increased confidence in Nwaneri’s ability to establish himself as a regular first-team player and sustain his current success.
