Mikel Arteta heard Arsenal players ‘whispering’ to get Ethan Nwaneri on

Ethan Nwaneri replaced Gabriel Martinelli after 77 minutes (Picture: Getty)

Mikel Arteta says he heard Arsenal players ‘whispering’ on the bench to bring on Ethan Nwaneri during Sunday’s 6-0 win over West Ham.

The Gunners thumped West Ham at the London Stadium to record their joint-largest ever away league win.

Arsenal scored their sixth goal in just the 65th minute, allowing Arteta to rest some of his starters and hand opportunities to other players.

The Arsenal boss decided to bring on 16-year-old wonderkid Nwaneri for the final 13 minutes of normal time as he replaced Gabriel Martinelli.

Speaking after the match, Arteta said: ‘There is something that you have to earn in your team and that is the trust of your team-mates.

‘I had two things. One, the players on the bench whispering, ‘Bring Ethan in!’ – which is a great thing to hear.

‘The other thing is for your team-mates to give you the ball all the time. If they do that, it’s because they really trust you and you only have to see how many times he was involved in that. So it’s a great sign.’

Meanwhile, Arteta also lauded Bukayo Saka after he registered his 50th career goal for Arsenal.

‘I had doubts whether he was going to take the penalty or not because of what happened [last season] but it shows you as well how mature he is and how determined he is to go to the next level,’ Arteta added.

‘At his age, the position and consistency normally don’t go in the same line. He’s proving everybody wrong that he can do it.’

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