Morning all.
I didn’t watch England play Latvia last night, but Myles Lewis-Skelly started again and by all accounts was good again. Declan Rice got another assist, and as far as I can see both of them came through last night’s encounter without any injury issues.
Meanwhile, England U21s were in action against their Portuguese counterparts, and Ethan Nwaneri got himself on the scoresheet in their 4-2 win. It’s a goal you might find familiar, because it’s a goal he’s scored before. Picking up the ball, making space on that left foot to have a shot, and unleashing an excellent finish – watch here.
When Mikel Arteta spoke about Nwaneri possibly being a ‘9’ in one his press conferences, I’m sure eyebrows were raised. I know mine were a bit, but we should probably have understood something from those comments. Arteta is pretty measured about what he says, especially when it comes to young players, so he wouldn’t have mentioned that carelessly. I think he was referring to how good a finisher he is, and that potentially opens the door for him to play in more advanced attacking positions.
He just turned 18 last week, and in his first season with the senior team he has 8 goals to his name. For England, across the U19s and now the U21s, he has another 7 goals under his belt, with a couple of assists in the mix too. I know we have to put those underage games in that context, but that’s 15 goals, and you’d expect him to add to that tally between now and the end of the campaign. Impressive numbers for a player of his age.
I don’t think he’ll be a centre-forward, not at the moment anyway when the physical profile of those players is so distinct from his, but what’s clear is that he is a player who you have to get into those advanced positions as much as possible. This is where I think his evolution is going to be fascinating. Does he continue as one of the front three, or can you drop him a little further back and give him licence to get forward, thus adding another attacking threat from deep? Either way, I think it’s going to be fun to watch because that’s going to happen at Arsenal for the most part.
Let’s go back to Rice, who spoke about Arsenal’s young talent to BBC last night. Having already sung the praises of MLS, on Nwaneri, he said:
I can’t talk highly enough of Ethan as well. Just wait until he hopefully gets into the team, the lads get to see him, because he is a special talent.
And then there were some words about Max Dowman, the next big thing at Academy level, and a player many are excited about:
Max is the best 15-year-old in the country. I have had so many texts about Max recently where people have watched him and said: ‘Wow, what a talent’. So he is one to watch out for.
But I think at 15 there is still such a long way to go. You can be the best in the country at 15, but it doesn’t necessarily mean at 18 you are going to be. So you need to be hungry, keep working, keep pushing. I speak with Max a lot and he knows that. And he has got such a good family around him. He is unreal.
This is another really fascinating one, because Rice’s point about being the best at 15 and then where you might be at 18 is spot on. There have been countless young players who have been tipped for the top at that age, but haven’t quite maintained that as they have got older. Things can even out when it comes to physical and mental maturity, and the advantage you had is not quite there anymore. Then you have to deal with the step up to playing against grown men.
For me, that’s a big part of what has been so impressive about Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly this season. Neither of them look out of place, even if you can see how they can still develop a bit at this level. It’s good to know Dowman has an experienced player like Rice providing advice, and hopefully the careers of the two players just a little ahead of him demonstrate the pathway is there at Arsenal if he maintains his development and progress.
Elsewhere, Thomas Partey scored twice for Ghana, Jakub Kiwior played the full 90 in Poland’s 2-0 win over Malta, and our Interlull involvement ends today when Martin Odegaard’s Norway take on Israel. Hopefully he comes through that one without any problems.
Right, I’ll leave it there for now. There’s a very Interlull Arsecast Extra below if you haven’t had a chance to listen yet. Enjoy!
