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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said academy products “have to earn” the right to play for the first team.
Trusted sources have now confirmed that the Gunners are willing to sell both Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly this summer, and while Arteta did not directly address the rumours, he made his feelings clear on what he expects from the club’s young players:
“At the end, if we can have players from Hale End, obviously that’s much better because the identity is there. We grow with them, and they know exactly what we’re looking for.”
“But then they have to earn it, and not for a week, not for a month, not for years like anybody else. It doesn’t matter what department or role you have in the club.”
“At the end, you have to sustain performance, and that has to be at the very highest level. If we want to win sustainably, we want to win.”
It’s been a rollercoaster 12 months for Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly
Last summer, the two teenagers were handed new long-term contracts by the London club, suggesting that they would remain at the Emirates for many years to come.
However, the arrivals of Eberechi Eze and Piero Hincapie bumped both players down the pecking order.
Nwaneri got so impatient for playing time that he decided to leave on loan for Marseille during the January transfer window.
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Where will the 2 Arsenal stars go?
While it is not set in stone that both youngsters will be offloaded over the coming months, the chances have greatly increased.
Nwaneri has attracted interest from Chelsea in the past (as has Lewis-Skelly), but his main suitor at the moment is thought to be Borussia Dortmund.
Lewis-Skelly is being targeted by Manchester Unitedbut it isn’t known whether the Gunners would sanction the left-back’s sale to a direct rival.
Read more about the Arsenal First Team Squad for 2025/26 here
