“You’re not really a man yet” - Arsenal legend explains why Ethan Nwaneri should not be called up by England during international break

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has urged Thomas Tuchel not to call up Ethan Nwaneri. He believes that the teenager is not ready for the pressure and should be taking the international break to work with Mikel Arteta.

Speaking on TNT Sports, Keown stated that Nwaneri is too young and needs to get rest amid the busy schedule. He believes that the Arsenal star should not be playing for the U21 as well and said via the Daily Mirror:

"There’s a chance [Nwaneri] may make the international team. That’s a concern, that’s a worry. You take it if it comes but if it doesn’t, then he gets a nice bit of time with the manager, resting up between games so there’s a balance. It does one thing for confidence but another for the body. When you’re 17, you’re not even fully developed in terms of your cardiovascular system."

"You’re not really a man yet. There’s still some growing to do, and recently he has looked tired, like he was blowing, and this is normal for a 17-year-old kid. So it might be a time where he needs resting. And if he doesn’t make the full squad, does he need to be involved in the U21s? This has got to be sensibly managed between now and the end of the season," he added.

Ethan Nwaneri has played over 1000 minutes for Arsenal in his 28 appearances this season. He has scored eight goals and got one assist for the Gunners in all competitions.

Thomas Tuchel was urged to pick Arsenal star by Troy Deeney

While Martin Keown stated that Ethan Nwaneri was too young and needed time, Troy Deeney believed it was best to call him up for the England team. He believes that the Arsenal star has been better than Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford, and Jack Grealish this season.

He said on talkSPORT:

"When Jack Wilshere got into that Arsenal team as a young kid, it was like, 'Oh my God, he's running that team already.' And I could see that with Nwaneri, I think now the problem is not if he plays, it's where does he play and who do we move out for him? He's been better than Phil Foden this year in terms of over the course of the season, I think he's been better than Rashford, Grealish. There's so many players that you can't put ahead of him now that used to be shoo-ins.

Thomas Tuchel is set to name his England squad for the first time since starting his role as the national team coach. England will face Albania and Latvia in the two World Cup qualifiers this month.