'Really special': Pundit says Arsenal have a young player who's could be the next Cesc Fabregas
Today at 07:45 AM
Arsenal have an incredible history of bringing through some of the games best young talents.
From Jack Wilshere to Bukayo Saka, Arsenal's academy has produced some brilliant talent over the years.
Ethan Nwaneri looks like he could be the next one off the conveyor belt of talent production at Arsenal.
Nwaneri was hailed for his performance against Preston in midweek, and the hype around this young man is starting to grow.
Speaking on the Handbrake Off Podcast, Adrian Clarke has been full of praise for Nwaneri, and he's gone as far as to claim that Nwaneri is in the same class as Cesc Fabregas as a talent.
Ethan Nwaneri is in the same class as Cesc Fabregas
Clarke made quite the claim about Nwaneri and his potential.
The pundit stated that Nwaneri is in the same bracket as Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere, and he says that the midfielder will be an England player before too long.
"It’s an exceptional talent. He belongs in the same class as Cesc and Jack Wilshere in terms of one, the kids. There’s no doubt about it," Clarke said.
"There’s no doubt either that, you know, this isn’t about England, but no doubt that he’s going to be an England player sooner rather than later as well. He is special, really special. His decision making, you know, that’s what Saka, that’s what set Saka apart from so many others, his age, doing the right thing 99 times out of 100."
Nwaneri compared to Fabregas and Wilshere
Nwaneri does look like a top talent, but you have to be something seriously special to earn comparisons to Fabrgeas and Wilshere.
Indeed, it's no exaggeration to say that Fabregas and Wilshere are two of the best young players of all-time, and the stats show that they were on another level to Nwaneri.
| Ethan Nwaneri | Cesc Fabregas aged 17 | Jack Wilshere aged 17 | |
| Games | 8 | 46 | 8 |
| Starts | 2 | 34 | 3 |
| Goals | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Assists | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Trophies | 0 | 2* | 0 |
Nwaneri isn't getting the same sort of minutes that Fabregas did at this age, but he is making a similar sort of impact in terms of goals, albeit against smaller teams.
However, Nwaneri’s stats are very comparable to Wilshere’s in terms of how often he is playing for Arsenal at this age.
Interestingly, Wilshere was Nwaneri's coach at Arsenal for a little while, and during that time, Wilshere became a huge fan of Nwaneri.
Of course, just because Nwaneri isn't at the level of Fabregas at the age of 17 doesn't mean he can't eventually reach that level, but perhaps expectations should be tapered just a little bit around this young man.
Nwaneri has a very bright future, but, as ever, it's important not to put too much pressure on a player like this.
