Olaleye Idowu
Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has revealed that Ethan Nwaneri is not allowed to prepare for matches in the senior dressing room, because of safeguarding rules.
The 17-year-old is enjoying a breakout season under Arteta.
Nwaneri has made his first starts in the Premier League and Champions League this campaign.
The midfielder has also impressed in the Carabao Cup, scoring across all three competitions.
Safeguarding rules stipulate that players must be 18 or older to share a dressing room with the senior squad.
It means that the young player in question must get changed elsewhere before joining his colleagues for the final team talk.
Arteta said: “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.
“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.”
