Arsenal to offer star new contract amid interest from PL rivals Manchester City - Reports
Arsenal midfielder Ethan Nwaneri is reportedly set to receive a new contract from the Gunners amid interest from Manchester City.
Nwaneri, 17, made Premier League history last season, becoming the youngest player to appear in the competition, at the age of 15 years and 181 days, in an away league game at Brentford. His only other league appearance came this season in a 6-0 win at West Ham United in February.
With his current deal expiring in 2025, many Premier League clubs - including City - are interested to snap him up. However, according to Caught Offside, the Gunners wish to keep prospective suitors at bay by offering the talented midfielder 'very soon'.
“As far as I’m aware, Ethan Nwaneri’s first professional deal will be confirmed very soon. It’s been agreed for a long time and he has now turned 17, so confirmation should follow imminently,” the Arsenal journalist Charles Watts told Caught Offside.
He continued:
“Getting him signed up is a big boost for Arsenal because there was a time not so long ago that people at the club were resigned to losing him.
“Both Chelsea and Manchester City were pushing very hard to get him and it was looking very likely that he would leave. But Arsenal kept trying to persuade him to resist what they were offering and to stay put, and I understand Mikel Arteta took a very active role in that.”
Nwaneri has mostly played for the Gunners' U-21 side this season.
What's next for Arsenal and Manchester City?
Both Arsenal and Manchester City are in the midst of superb campaigns. While the Gunners lead the Premier League after 28 games, Pep Guardiola's City are only a point behind in third.
Both sides are also into the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. Mikel Arteta's Gunners take on Bayern Munich, while defending championws City lock horns with record 14-time winners Real Madrid in a rematch of last year's semis, which they won 4-1 on aggregate.
While City are also into the FA Cup semifinal - where they take on Chelsea - next month, the Gunners lost in the opening round to Liverpool. Both the Gunners and City exited the EFL Cup early, though.
Both sides return to action following the ongoing international break with a blockbuster Premier League showdown at the Etihad on Sunday (March 31). The Gunners won the reverse fixture 1-0 at the Emirates earlier in the season.