What Arsenal players told Mikel Arteta about Ethan Nwaneri during West Ham fixture

Some Arsenal players were urging Mikel Arteta to bring teenager Ethan Nwaneri on during the closing stages of their drubbing of West Ham.

Arsenal hit the Hammers for six on Sunday, with Bukayo Saka (two), William Saliba, Gabriel, Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice all scoring.

The Gunners’ comfortable lead afforded Arteta the freedom to introduce 16-year-old Nwaneri at the end of the second half for his first Premier League appearance of the season and second overall.

‘Bring Ethan in!’

“There is something that you have to earn in your team and that is the trust of your team-mates,” Arteta said.

“I had two things. One, the players on the bench whispering, ‘bring Ethan in!’, which is a great thing to hear. The other thing is for your team-mates to give you the ball all the time.

“If they do that, it’s because they really trust you and you only have to see how many times he was involved in that. So it’s a great sign.”

On Declan Rice’s impressive return to the London Stadium, Arteta said: “I’m really happy with him. I know that it was an emotional day for him because he loves West Ham so much. But he had to focus on the task and what he had to deliver.

“Set pieces were one of those because when we have certain players on the pitch he is a better threat outside the box than inside the box. Then I was really pleased to see the class of the crowd to give him the reception he deserves.”