Mikel Arteta has revealed that Arsenal wonderkid Ethan Nwaneri is banned from the senior dressing room despite starring for the first-team this season.
The 17-year-old made his debut for Arsenal two years ago at the tender age of just 15, becoming the youngest player in Premier League history when he came off the bench against Brentford.
He has had to bide his time for opportunities since then, making just one appearance last season, before fully breaking into the Arsenal senior side this season under Arteta.
Nwaneri marked the first Champions League start of his career with a superb goal in Arsenal's 2-1 win over Girona last month, before impressing again in Sunday's emphatic 5-1 win over Manchester City in the Premier League.
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The attacking midfielder came off the bench to score a spectacular long-range strike to wrap up the win against City and cement his status as one of the most exciting young talents in European football.
He has now made 22 appearances in all competitions this season but despite his impressive performances in recent weeks, Nwaneri is not allowed to get changed with the rest of his teammates in the senior Arsenal dressing room.
Arteta has revealed that Nwaneri, unlike fellow Arsenal starlet Myles Lewis-Skelly – who turned 18 in September, has been prevented from doing so this season because of his young age.
"When you see those two [Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri] walking next to each other, talking to each other, there is a bond there and a chemistry there," said Arteta.
"I imagine for them it is special because at the moment they are still in different dressing rooms [at the training ground].
"Ethan cannot be in our dressing room still, which is unbelievable. He needs to get dressed somewhere else, even on match day.
"So to have somebody close to him that has that trust, that confidence, that link, I think it is lucky. They are very lucky to have each other."
Arsenal next face Newcastle in their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg on Wednesday night and will need to overturn a 2-0 defeat from the first leg when they travel to St James' Park.
Speaking ahead of the match, Arteta admitted he was disappointed Arsenal had failed to sign a much-needed striker in the winter transfer window but backed Nwaneri and other players to step up.
"We had a clear intention to explore the opportunities to improve our squad with players that can impact it. And we haven't achieved that so we are disappointed in that sense," said Arteta.
"We are very aware that we only want to bring a certain kind of player in and we have to be very disciplined with that as well.
"After you don't achieve it, for sure there are things to learn from it, there always are but you have to move on. Nobody knows whether it is better to have done it or not. We'll know probably at the end of the season.
"But we're going to have to be very flexible with the front line. Leo [Trossard] can play in that position. Raheem [Sterling] has played in that position. Ethan, I think, can play in that position. [Gabriel] Martinelli can play there, too. At some point, we're going to have to try something different."
Topics: Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Premier League, Carabao Cup, Newcastle United
Rory O'Callaghan