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Opinion

Ethan Nwaneri must be fuming with Mikel Arteta decision recently made at Arsenal

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Arsenal managed a miraculous comeback in the Premier League as they managed to overcome Newcastle in a tough test at St. James’ Park.

The Gunners went behind through Nick Woltemade, but goals from Mikel Merino and Gabriel Magalhaes late on completed an impressive turnaround.

It was a match that required the efforts of everyone in the squad, as Mikel Arteta called upon his substitutes to make all the difference.

In the end, Arsenal landed all three points, but there were plenty of names missing from the matchday squad.

Not least Ethan Nwaneri, who was seemingly dropped by the manager altogether for the encounter.

Ethan Nwaneri looks on during an Arsenal training session
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Ethan Nwaneri must be annoyed at being dropped by Arsenal against Newcastle

Arsenal’s injury troubles have seen them struggle with squad depth over the past season or so, but that has seemingly been fixed.

With Arsenal spending over £250 million in the summer transfer window, the options are far deeper now and with plenty of quality.

That does mean, however, when players return, there are issues with managing the overall squad.

That much was proven during Arsenal’s win over Newcastle, as Ethan Nwaneri was omitted from the matchday squad entirely.

The youngster had travelled and appeared to be fit to play, having featured in training in the build-up to the match.

With Max Dowman named ahead of him, there may be concerns over how Arsenal are managing minutes at this stage.

Nwaneri recently signed a new deal with Arsenal, which keeps him at the club for the long term, but he needs opportunities too.

To have seen one of these chances taken away from him won’t have come easily, as Nwaneri will surely have wanted to feature in such a high-stakes match.

Given his desire to play and the fact that a fellow academy star several years his junior was ahead of him, it may be a decision that would come with some frustration.

However, that is now the new challenge that Arteta faces this season.

Mikel Arteta applauds after his Arsenal team beat Newcastle in the Premier League
Photo by Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images

Mikel Arteta faces the tough task of keeping the Arsenal squad happy

Up to this point, Arteta had largely worked with a relatively small, close squad at Arsenal.

However, with struggles surrounding injuries last season, it’s no surprise that the squad has been expanded to help cope with the sheer amount of fixtures.

Now that he has the quality at his disposal, the manager will be aiming to win the biggest prizes, even with the impact of some key absences.

A new challenge does come with that, though, which will surround how well he can manage his squad.

Given that they are all top professionals, every Arsenal player will be pushing to start in every possible match.

Having to rotate and fit them in, balancing minutes with wins, will be the tough part.

Whether Arteta can now balance that is part of his job moving forward, something new that he will have to learn about quickly.