Flying Eagles-eligible player among young talents called up to train with Arsenal first team pre-Aston Villa

England U17 international of Nigerian descent Ethan Nwaneri rubbed shoulders with Arsenal first team stars before their trip to Birmingham,  where they take on another top three team Aston Villa in the Premier League this weekend.

According to Arsenal youth team expert Jeorge Bird, Nwaneri joined the first team to train on Friday as manager Mikel Arteta called him up to take part in their final preparations before the matchday 16 fixture.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta also requested that academy talents Amario Cozier-Duberry, Reuell Walters, Ayden Heaven, James Hillson, Josh Nichols, Bradley Ibrahim, Jimi Gower, Ismail Oulad M’Hand, Zane Monlouis and Charles Sagoe Jr. join the first team for the training session at London Colney.

It remains to be seen whether the Flying Eagles-eligible player will be incorporated into the first team squad against Aston Villa, something that seems unlikely to happen given that his last squad involvement for a Premier League game was back in September 2022 when he became the youngest player in history to play a game in the top-flight of English football.

Against Aston Villa, Arteta will not be able to call upon the services of three midfielders Emile Smith Rowe, Thomas Partey and Fabio Vieira who are all recovering from injuries.

First-year scholar Nwaneri can play centrally in midfield and is also comfortable being deployed as a winger.

The 16-year-old was having a superb season for Arsenal's development squad before suffering an injury that sidelined him for several weeks, netting five goals in his first six games for the U21s.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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