Arsenal teenager Ethan Nwaneri has signed a new five-year contract with the club where he says he feels at home.
Nwaneri becomes the third senior player this summer to commit their future to the club after both Gabriel Magalhaes and Myles Lewis-Skelly also signed contracts before the start of their preseason tour of Asia.
Arsenal 'feels like home'
The 18-year-old's previous deal had been set to expire in June 2026, and the Gunners were keen to lock him down to a new deal after an impressive season, which saw the teenager score nine goals in all competitions under manager Mikel Arteta.
Speaking to the club website, Nwaneri explained how much the new deal means to him, and he admits that he is excited to show what he can bring to the side that will challenge for the Premier League title once again.
“Signing this contract means everything to me. I see this as my first real season in men’s senior football, as part of the squad in the changing room.
“I'm so excited for what I can bring to the team. I want to help us win as much as possible and bring happiness and glory to the club. This is where I feel at home.”
Nwaneri's advice for Arsenal academy stars
The new season will also see Nwaneri wear a new shirt number, having swapped the number 53 shirt for 22, which goalkeeper David Raya has vacated in favour of the No. 1 jersey.
Nwaneri made history when he became the youngest player to feature for Arsenal’s first team aged 15 years and 181 days in 2022.
When asked what advice he would give to academy stars at Arsenal, he gave some great insight into what helped him become an integral part of the first team squad.
“Keep patient and have goals in your head,” he suggested. “When you're at Hale End, the next target is to get to the Sobha Realty Training Centre. And when you're there, it’s to get in the under-21s.
"Then the first thing was just to keep patient, keep working hard every day at your craft, and have the long-term vision in the back of your head, but just be ready when it comes.
“It's a good pressure that (the academy players) are going to be watching you, so you need to show them the right things. It means a lot that the young generation is looking up to me now because when I was their age, I was looking up to the Hale End graduates and the Arsenal players in general.
“Reiss (Nelson), Bukayo (Saka), Emile (Smith Rowe) - so many players. Ainsley Maitland-Niles - all these players I was looking up to when I was young. You don’t compare, but you’ve shared something, like a moment. They've been where you've been, and you're trying to get to where they are.”