This time last year, Ethan Nwaneri was being tipped to become “the next big thing” to come out of Hale End.

Out of his crop, Ethan was the one who generated the most excitement. I doubt even he envisioned himself having the impact he did on our first team.

Prior to this season, he had made only two substitute appearances for the first team. The first of those came against Brentford in September 2022 in doing so making him the youngest player in Premier League history at just 15 years of age.

He was 18 months too young to even sign a professional contract. Certain cynical sections of the media suggested it was merely a publicity stunt on Arteta’s and Arsenal’s part.

What a load of rubbish.

But at the beginning of last season, Nwaneri really came to the fore.

He marked his first ever senior start with an impressive brace against Bolton in the Carabao Cup. he followed this up with a peach of a strike away at Preston in the next round. That finish was well worth not getting home until quarter to six the following morning.

He opened his Premier League account with a strike in a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in November. Following Saka’s long-term injury in December, the youngster suddenly found himself thrust firmly into the limelight, being given start after start on the right-hand side.

Further high-quality strikes away in the Champions League away at Girona and PSV enhanced his reputation even more. And who can forget that unbelievable strike in the memorable 5-1 win over Manchester City?

Nwaneri is yet to receive a senior England call up but was a part of Lee Carsley’s U-21 squad who have just retained their U-21 Euros trophy.

So, what might this success mean for Ethan and Arsenal?

Firstly, I think it has come as a slight surprise to many that Nwaneri is yet to play for the senior national team but surely a call up cannot be too far away.

So, what can a player who has spent a large chunk of the season playing a very influential role in a side competing at the top end of the table and going very far in the Champions League, truly learn from playing youth football which he doesn’t already know?

Without wanting to be too biased, even as one of the youngest players in Carsley’s side most would probably consider Nwaneri as one of the most able members of the group.

Essentially, he is playing with lesser able players than the guys he plays with at Arsenal - teaching him about the importance of work rate, particularly defensively and how to provide your teammates with exactly what they need from you.

It’s all very well when you’re playing with Martin Odegaard and Saka, because you know where they want to receive the ball and how they want to receive it. When we are on the back foot, Ethan knows what Jurrien Timber or Ben White requires him to do.

But when you are playing with players of a lesser ability, you must work harder to be able to understand them more and build a good relationship with them.

This ought to teach Nwaneri a great deal of the importance of responsibility and leadership, two qualities which would stand him in very good stead later in his career when his manager may be considering him for leadership roles such as captain or vice-captain.

Many managers opt for a leadership core of players in addition to an official club captain who will have a certain responsibility to help other members of the team.

These experiences will only build up Nwaneri’s confidence which already appears to be high on the pitch. This victorious campaign may aid Ethan’s confidence off the pitch as well as on it and this is just as important for a players’ health and general wellbeing.

Overall, Nwaneri would’ve learned an awful lot from this campaign.

He has played more minutes than he probably envisioned and the same goes for the output he was able to provide for the side.

Other than a slight dip towards the end of the campaign, which was probably more to do with fatigue than anything else, Nwaneri’s performances have been exemplary this season especially for someone of his age.

He has shown real maturity beyond his years and I’m sure this is just the start of a magnificent career.

Let’s hope he spends the majority of it in N5.