Summary 16-year-old Ethan Nwaneri has emerged as a standout young talent at Arsenal, having made his Premier League debut last season and impressing with a hat-trick for the U21s. But Oleksandr Zinchenko has named a different player as the most impressive talent at the club. Zinchenko also praised midfielder Thomas Partey as the most underrated player in the Premier League, sparking a debate on the best holding midfielder between Partey, Casemiro, and Rodri.
Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko has named the youngster who has "impressed" him the most at the club, while also praising midfielder Thomas Partey.
Who is the best young talent at Arsenal right now?
The Gunners are well-known for producing plenty of top-class talent from their Hale End academy. After all, Bukayo Saka was just handed the PFA men’s Young Player of the Year award for the 2022/23 season.
Adding to that, another former graduate striker Chuba Akpom, also won the Championship PFA Players' Player of the Year award.
With that in mind, it's always wise for fans to keep an eye on the youngsters emerging at Arsenal. One big name to have made headlines of late is 16-year-old Ethan Nwaneri. After all, he is the youngster-ever Premier League player after making his debut 15 years and 181 days against Brentford last season.
He also netted an impressive hat-trick for the Arsenal Under 21s recently, with senior manager Mikel Arteta in attendance. However, Zinchenko named a different player when talking about the most impressive talent at the club.
Indeed, while speaking on Rio Ferdinand's FIVE podcast, the Ukrainian named Reuell Walters as his pick, saying: “I like so much the centre-back, Reuell. The quality he has, he’s aggressive."
“I swear to god, once he pushed Gabriel Jesus shoulder to shoulder, it’s not easy to push Gabi, yeah. He was confident on the ball after. He kept the ball well. Wow, he impressed me the most.”
Walters is still only 18 years old and can play as a centre-back or a right-back but is yet to make his senior debut for the Gunners – although clearly is one to keep an eye on for the future.
What's more, as per a recent report in FootballTransfers, Arteta may well opt to thrust the defender into first-team action this term to help provide cover for the injured Jurrien Timber.
What did Zinchenko say about Partey?
Incidentally, while speaking on the same podcast, Zinchenko was also quizzed about who the most underrated player is in the Premier League.
"For me, if you want me to choose one player, Thomas Partey," he said.
His reply then sparked a debate about who is currently the best holding midfielder in England between Casemiro of Manchester United and Manchester City ace Rodri.
Zinchenko elaborated: "He's [Casemiro] an absolutely world-class player as well. But for me, if you want me to choose one, Thomas Partey."
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He added: "I had a debate in my head about who is the best holding midfielder I've ever played with. The debate was between Fernandinho, Thomas Partey and Rodri.
Ferdinand couldn't help but interject, though, saying "Wait, better than Rodri. I'm leaving, I'm leaving. I think he's great but better than Rodri?"
"He has everything," Zinchenko replied. "Rodri fits so well for City's system. If you take him out, it's a different City. He's the main detail there because, for me, it's the toughest position to play and Rodri fits it so well."
As you can see in footage shared on the Five Twitter account, Ferdinand was stunned by the claim and did indeed nearly leave the room.
As someone who has played with both Partey and Rodri, however, Zinchenko is in the best position to cast judgement, so his opinion means a lot – even if some fans might disagree.
