EPL: I was under pressure to play Nwaneri against West Ham – Arteta

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EPL: I was under pressure to play Nwaneri against West Ham – Arteta

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has claimed he was pressured to play Ethan Nwaneri in their 6-0 win over West Ham on Sunday.

Speaking after the game, Arteta revealed that his players forced him to bring on the 16-year-old.

Nwaneri made his first senior appearance of the season as a substitute in the 77th minute, replacing Gabriel Martinelli.

Arteta has admitted he wasn’t planning on bringing the teenager on.

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