Mikel Arteta explained the reasons why three young stars didn’t play for Arsenal

Arsenal’s coach Mikel Arteta surprised the media and the fans in the last few hours, as he had included three young players from the club’s academy in his squad to face PSV in the Phillips Stadium on the sixth day of the 2023/2024 Champions League group stage, who never were called to make their debut with the Gunners in the European competition.

The players, who were expected to be brought to the pitch by the Spanish coach, were Ethan Mwaneri, Reuell Walters, and Lino Sousa, three incredible prospects who have shone in the last few months with Arsenal’s academy team, as according to the experts the players would be ready to make a great impact on their senior careers.

In this sense, it was really high the expectation of seeing the evolutions of the three young stars on the pitch against PSV, given that Arsenal were already leaders of their group and qualified for the next round of the competition, but Mikel Arteta finally didn’t give any minute to any of them, opting for senior players like Reiss Nelson or Emile Smith Rowe.

Arteta himself explained the reasons of their no participation against PSV

In this respect, the Spanish manager himself clarified the reasons why he wouldn’t have brought on the youngsters during the game, leaving a clear message on the young stars' correct development. “I don’t think it was the right context, making eight changes already to throw them in there against a team that hasn’t lost here almost in two years, I didn’t think it was the right moment and I went on to wait to see how the game developed, we had no room because we really wanted to play a game as well”, he explained.