When Ethan Nwaneri is now set to make his first Arsenal start in wake of Martin Odegaard injury

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Arsenal are currently in a bit of a tricky situation ahead of their trip to Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.

The Gunners head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday to contest the North London derby in a 2pm kick-off.

However, Arsenal will have to do so without at least two – potentially three – of their key midfielders.

Gunners summer signing Mikel Merino hasn’t played competitively for Mikel Arteta’s side yet due to a training-ground injury.

Declan Rice then received a controversial second booking against Brighton to rule him out for the trip to Tottenham.

And on Monday, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard suffered an injury on international duty with Norway, rendering him a doubt for the Spurs clash.

A number of Gunners players have been tipped to replace Odegaard should he miss the match, including Hale End star Ethan Nwaneri.

Now, GiveMeSport has shared a report regarding when the 17-year-old could make his first start for Arsenal.

Arsenal plan to start Ethan Nwaneri against Bolton Wanderers

GiveMeSport’s report claims that the Gunners are not planning to give Nwaneri his first start for Arsenal in the Tottenham fixture.

However, the Gunners do plan to start Nwaneri this month, namely in the League Cup third-round clash with Bolton Wanderers at the Emirates Stadium on 25 September.

Arsenal have ‘incredible belief in the youngster long-term’, but throwing Nwaneri in at the deep end in a Premier League game away at their bitter rivals isn’t on the cards, said the report.

GiveMeSport added that, in a bid to work around Odegaard’s injury, Arteta will look to start Jorginho and Thomas Partey as the double pivot in midfield.

How many games has Nwaneri played for Arsenal so far?

Nwaneri made headlines in September 2022 when Arteta gave him his Arsenal debut aged just 15 years and 181 days in the 3-0 Premier League win against Brentford.

This made him the youngest ever player to appear in the Premier League, as well as the youngest ever Arsenal player.

Nwaneri has since made another competitive appearance for the Gunners, getting 13 minutes under his belt in a 6-0 win over West Ham in February 2024.

The teenager has also made the Arsenal matchday squad a further eight times in the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.