goon I can only assume it's load and expectation management given just how much Arteta raves about him as a player.

We've been playing like shit, and Saka is Arteta's go-to match winner and he's got a long history of leaving Saka out on his legs hoping to squeeze out results. And that is why we haven't been seeing too much of Nwaneri.

Plus Arteta felt like he needed to work through all his other senior options out there, even though they've all been less effective than Nwaneri.

    Clrnc same Barca full of injured and washed out teenagers?

        Claudius yup the one that's topping the league and helped Spain to the euros victory.

            Clrnc sir, you’re taking an outlier as well who is probably the best teenager anybody normal has seen since Messi as the example of why we need to play a child.

            And prior to this, we consistently had one of the 16 youngest squads in all of Europe (including places like Austria and Holland where teams are young) when Arteta focused on Saka etc.

            People were annoyed Saka wasn’t in the FA cup final. He seems to be fine now as far as I can tell.

                Claudius People were annoyed Saka wasn’t in the FA cup final. He seems to be fine now as far as I can tell.

                People aren't worried about Nwaneri stagnating if he doesn't play a few more minutes, so not sure where you're going with this. The question is if Nwaneri playing more would've helped us.

                    QuincyAbeyie we looked shit. I doubt we would’ve solved significant structural issues that the team had. We had an Odegaard sized hole. Nobody is filling that, certainly not Nwaneri.

                      I've seen this argument several times - that Ødegaard is irreplaceable so there's no point in trying to fill the void. As if it's just a binary question of filling vs. not filling rather than degrees of filling.

                      We looked like shit, like you say. Whether Nwaneri should've played is certainly not a question of "would he have made us play as well as if we had Ødegaard", but "would he have made us play any better than what we did?"

                      goon Sure, he probably could have played 350 mins rather than 250 mins without it really impacting the above, but that's neither here nor there really.

                      Except that it is.

                      • goon replied to this.

                          QuincyAbeyie exactly. We looked so blunt without Odegaard. We needed someone with Nwaneris skillset.

                            Qwiss

                            Maybe, but you’re talking about an extra 15 mins here and there. I think it was Newcastle where he came on a bit earlier and struggled to get into the game until he had a late shot on goal.

                            To be perfectly clear, I think he should have been coming on sooner or maybe even starting. I can’t really see the harm. But I also can’t see any other reason why he’s not getting game time than those given.

                            Maybe there’s a bit of what @Burnwinter suggested in not wanting to promote him ahead of someone like Trossard too quickly, but I don’t even see how that would be a problem if you’re talking about being subbed on earlier or starting one game in 5. He also came on ahead of both Jesus and Sterling at times.

                                goon he should have started a couple of matches in Odegaard absence. It's obvious he is extremely quality and could help us win games

                                  It's not that complex. Nwaneri could've played a bit more by now and it's been indicated with hindsight that he should've. Arteta hasn't played Nwaneri less than he could have purely out of a judicious desire to protect him.

                                  Fine margins in this league and we've dropped points due to a lack of verve and creativity.

                                  Burnwinter

                                  No, the flaw is armchair fans thinking they know better.

                                  Claudius

                                  Why let facts like that get in the way?

                                  USArsenal

                                  That's why my list of comparable attributes didn't include intelligence.

                                          Aren't all fans armchair fans, unless they don't have any opinion of their own except for "whatever happens is always the right decision, because I am in no position to think otherwise"?

                                          daredevil No, the flaw is armchair fans thinking they know better.

                                          Nope. Let's be clear, Arteta doesn't give a fuck about load management when there are other factors he deems more important. Don't ask me. Ask Ben White!

                                              Burnwinter

                                              Load management for a 17yr old who cramped up in both league cup games is a little different than a seasoned pro who plays through hamstring injuries.

                                              And of course it’s just one consideration of many. If you carry the team on your back every week then it’s pretty natural that you’ll be asked to do more than if you’re a kid out the academy.

                                                  Burnwinter

                                                  I'd imagine Nwaneri being 17 and White being 27 has something to do with the different approaches being taken.