When Mikel Arteta took over from interim boss Freddie Ljungberg in 2019, he was handed two of the finest young talents to emerge out of Arsenal’s Hale End academy.
One of them was Bukayo Saka, a young winger who has now gone on to play 250 times for the Gunners by the age of 23.
The other was Emile Smith Rowe. You know how the song goes, Arsenal fans. The attacking midfielder may now be plying his trade at Fulham but he was much loved at the Emirates Stadium.
It wouldn’t be drastic, to say that the duo saved Arteta’s first year in full management. Come the end of the 2020/21 campaign, the Hale Enders were on fire, contributing with 25 goals and assists between them.
While Arteta’s job is not under threat in 2025, he does have another pair of fine academy talents who have stepped up amid injuries to help Arsenal reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
If you didn’t already know their names, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are the duo.
What makes Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly so special
When Nwaneri was handed his Premier League debut at the age of 15, it sparked outrage. Many thought it was a performance, some overdramatics from Arteta.
Speaking on talkSPORT, pundit Danny Murphy said: “I’m not convinced that it’s the best move for a young player, I’m really not. He’s obviously a super talent and doing well in training and impressing everyone but surely they’ve got other 18, 19, 20-year-olds who are further ahead in their development and could have got on the bench.”
Well, how wrong he was. Three years on, having only just turned 18, Nwaneri is a major part of this Arsenal squad.
He’s not just one of the finest teenagers in the Premier League, but he’s one of the best in the global game, ranked as the sixth-best wonderkid in the world by GOAL’s famed NXGN 2025 list.
Nwaneri had the innate ability to make something happen out of nothing. He can beat a player on either side and is already among some fine company.
GOAL.com's 10 best wonderkids in world football.
Only Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen scored more goals for a Premier League club in all competitions before turning 18. In total, the teen has scored eight times this season, supplying one assist.
Alongside him has been Lewis-Skelly. Also 18, the youngster has been a more regular starter for Arteta’s Arsenal side but deserves equal praise.
In fact, the left-back has been so good that he was named in Thomas Tuchel’s first-ever England squad and even scored on his debut against Albania on Friday.
“We were always impressed with Myles since he started, Mikel Arteta picks him regularly. I can understand it feels like we are fast-forwarding a career that is already on a fast pace. I can promise the talks over the last few weeks have had a bit of a parental vibe, a protective vibe. Is it our responsibility not to take him? But with the quality and maturity he showed in the matches, we decided to take him.” – Tuchel on Lewis-Skelly.
A midfielder by trade, Lewis-Skelly has needed little adaption to make the left-back spot his own, keeping out £42m signing Riccardo Calafiori out of the team.
He’s cocky, arrogant, but all in a good way for Arsenal fans. He’s played 26 times this term and excusing a few red cards, hasn’t looked out of place in the hustle and bustle of the Premier League.
As such, both Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly are among the most prominent young players in England’s top flight.
That said, for every success story that comes out of Hale End, some don’t always make it despite incredible hype.
The Arsenal youngster who was ahead of Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly
For every Saka and Nwaneri, there is a Gedion Zelalem, a Jeff Reine-Adelaide, a player who shows a remarkable amount of promise but doesn’t quite make the grade in the senior team.
That certainly applies to young Charlie Patino. He looked like the best thing since sliced bread when he broke through into Arteta’s first team, notably compared to the likes of Jack Wilshere and Cesc Fabregas for his technical ability in midfield.
The hype was certainly real here, with Arsenal scout Brian Stapleton telling GOAL a few years ago: “Shaun O’Connor discovered Jack Wilshere and he said to me that Charlie is the best player who has ever walked through the doors at Hale End. The kid has got so much potential, but he’s not there yet.”
Such a ringing endorsement was something we didn’t see again until the likes of Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly emerged on the scene. That potential looked like it was going to be realised too when Patino found the net on his first-team debut in 2021, scoring in a Carabao Cup tie with Sunderland.
Described as a “special talent” by Black Cats reporter Phil Smith, from that moment, things never really took off for the talented midfielder.
A teenager at the time, he only went on to make one further appearance in Arsenal colours before he was rather forgotten about.
Blackpool
37
3
4
Swansea
35
4
4
Arsenal U18
25
1
4
Arsenal U21
22
2
1
Deportivo
4
0
0
Arsenal
2
1
0
He needed regular game time, he deserved game time given his potential and he received that at both Blackpool and Swansea City on loan. He caught the eye, scoring seven goals and supplying eight assists across 72 games in those two stints.
Yet, Arteta never quite took a liking to him. Patino was impressing but his performances were not blowing onlookers away. He notably struggled to get back in the side at Swansea after a change in manager in December 2023.
So, Patino returned in 2024 and with game time paramount, all parties decided it was best he left the club. According to Arsenal reporter Charles Watts, there just wasn’t sufficient interest from Premier League or Championship clubs, which led to Edu and Co accepting a measly £1m offer for him to move to Deportivo La Coruna in Spain’s second tier.
Considering the Nwaneri-level hype that was generated after his debut, this is a shame for everyone really. He’s made just four appearances this term, struggling to move himself from the bench.
It’s a classic what might have been story.
Arsenal struck gold on amazing star worth more than Trossard & Lewis-Skelly
The incredible ace will be a star for Arsenal.
ByJack Salveson HolmesMar 19, 2025