Mikel Arteta was quizzed on the fitness of Ethan Nwaneri after the final whistle (Image: PA)
has offered an update on the fitness of Ethan Nwaneri after he limped off during the closing stages of ‘s defeat to .
The teenage winger started the match on the right flank and looked lively in the opening exchanges. However, a lack of service from his team-mates meant he was unable to impact the game in the way he would have liked.
Nwaneri was eventually replaced by Raheem Sterling in the 81st minute and appeared to be moving gingerly as he made his way off the pitch while applauding the home fans.
It sparked fears that he may have picked up a knock, with already suffering from a number of attacking injuries. Arteta, however, was quick to play down those concerns when quizzed on Nwaneri’s fitness after the final whistle.
Nwaneri looked to be moving gingerly when he was substituted in the closing stages (Image: GETTY)
Pressed for an update on the 17-year-old’s condition in his press conference, Arteta replied: “No, hopefully not, he was just fatigued I think.”
Nwaneri briefly shared the pitch with Myles Lewis-Skelly, another academy graduate who has successfully navigated the step up to senior level in recent months.
The young defender was introduced from the bench in the second half but only lasted 17 minutes before he was sent off for a rash challenge on Mohamed Kudus.
Lewis-Skelly was initially shown a yellow card after hauling Kudus down while attempting to recover from his own error. Following a VAR intervention, his punishment was upgraded for denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity.
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Asked for his thoughts on the decision to give Lewis-Skelly his marching orders, Arteta replied: “I haven’t seen it back but honestly, I will focus on what we have to do. I don’t know if the decision was right or wrong,
“I haven’t seen it, I don’t want to evaluate it, but a lot of the things that we should have done better today, it wasn’t. I will have to see the action back to evaluate it.”
Arteta also said he understood the frustrations of the fans who booed at the full-time whistle, insisting it was up to him and the players to make them happy again.
“I think that’s human,” said the Spaniard. “You asked me many times what is the ideal and what the team needs and how we overcome certain deficiencies that we have in the squad.
“It’s them being in every single ball, that’s my dream, but I’m not here to demand that to the crowd.”