Arsenal-Teen Ethan Nwaneri has signed a new five-year contract with the club where he says he feels at home.
Nwaneri will be the third senior player this summer to bind their future to the club after both Gabriel Magalhaes and Myles Lewis-Skelly have also signed contracts before the start of their tour tours through Asia.
Arsenal 'feels like home'
The previous deal of the 18-year-old was set up to expire in June 2026, and the Gunners wanted to hold him on a new deal after an impressive season, where the teenager scored nine goals in all competitions under manager Mikel Arteta.
Nwaneri spoke with the club website and explained how much the new deal means to him and he admits that he is enthusiastic to show what he can put aside that will again challenge for the Premier League title.
“Signing this contract means everything for me. I see this as my first real season in senior football for men, as part of the team in the dressing room.
“I am so excited for what I can bring to the team. I want to help us win as much as possible and bring happiness and glory to the club. I feel at home here.”
Nwaneri's advice for Arsenal Academy Stars
In the new season, Nwaneri will also wear a new shirt number that has changed the number 53 shirt for 22, that goalkeeper David Raya has left in favor of the number 1 sweater.
Nwaneri wrote history when he became the youngest player who came up for the first team of Arsenal of 15 years and 181 days in 2022.
When asked what advice he would give to Academy Stars in Arsenal, he gave a great insight into what helped him become an integral part of the first team team.
“Keep patient and have goals in your head,” he suggested. “If you are at Hale End, the next goal is to go to the Sobha Realty Training Center. And if you are there, it is to get to the young people.
“Then the first was just to stay patient, to continue working hard every day on your profession and having the long -term vision in mind, but be ready when it comes.
“It is a good pressure that (the Academy players) will keep an eye on you, so you have to show them the right things. It means that the young generation now looks up to me, because when I was their age, I looked up to the graduates of Hale End and the Arsenal players in general.
“Reiss (Nelson), Bukayo (Saka), Emile (Smith Rowe) – so many players. Ainsley Maitland -Niles – all these players I looked at when I was young. You don't compare, but you have shared something like a moment. They have been where you have been and you are trying to come.”