Scouting Arsenal's NEXT GENERATION: Ethan Nwaneri, Miles Lewis-Skelly, Ayden Heaven. Pre-Season 24/5

With Arsenal's pre-season tour of the USA kicking off on Wednesday against Bournemouth, many regular first-teamers are yet to return, so I thought it was the perfect time now to select three youngsters from the most recent generation of Hale-Enders and provide you with an in-depth profiling of each one and why you should be looking out for them this pre-season. Welcome back to the Harvey Gratian YouTube channel. I'm so glad you found us or are joining us once again. I know it's been a couple of weeks since the last upload, but life has got in the way. But I am back and videos will be coming at you as normal now, as Arsenal kick into stride in their pre-season now. Now, the first youngster we're going to focus on is Ethan Nguernieri, the most prevalent name out of the newest round of Hale-End prospects. So it's only right to start with him and what makes Nguernieri so special. One word is going to crop up a lot in this scouting report, and that is instinct. Take Nguernieri's relationship, for example, with Julian Timber for the under-21s. We're not just talking about the intelligent and subtle rotations high and low between them, but it's how they move off each other so fluidly. I think Nguernieri has these natural connections with so many people. He finds runners around him with effortless ease, and I think his reverse passes, for example, into a Martinelli darting in behind would be as free-flowing as water. He loves to knit together to combine, connect, unlock defences in tight spaces, but a big part of what sets Ethan Nguernieri apart is his bigger space stuff. For example, sticking with his passing, Nguernieri can kill you in behind, and the dynamic that works best is where he's found higher in between the lines after a press has been broken. He gets quickly then on the half turn to accelerate play, and almost in one fluid motion, he's released someone in behind. We're talking about these types of moments here. When we overload the build-up and access the space created higher up, Nguernieri is absolutely devastating in these areas, and that's because how quickly he operates. I think Nguernieri actually has it within him to be a deeper, more free-rolling eight, with his press resistance and taking responsibility in the build-up, use deep, dictating the tempo of play, but I feel these killer instincts are best used higher up in the regions of a true number 10. These instincts extend to Nguernieri's goal scoring, and that's another reason for the argument to keep him higher, and it's another reason why he's so unique as a profile. I think he has the capacity to become a prolific goal scorer. I really do believe that his nose for space in the box is second to none, but what makes him truly devastating is the amount and level of ball striking he can generate from very snappy, sharp, and short backlifts. This season, we've seen Arteta often double down on the shadow striker roles just off the centre forward for Arsenal, and I think the way Nguernieri picks up or gobbles the ball, as I put it, and then the amount of options he has to either release a runner to play sort of one-twos or take a shot on goal is a lovely potential dynamic. He also, though, has the ability to carry in these positions, and with any knockdowns or second balls from the centre forward, sort of quickly gathered and collected into his momentum through unbelievable close control of the ball and a pretty powerful motor, and this is where I think Nguernieri differs most in profile to Fabio Vieira and Martin Oerdegaard. I'm leaving Smithrow out of it for now because he's quite similar to Nguernieri in this regard, but in terms of profile to Oerdegaard and Vieira, Nguernieri has the ability to weave and swallow him in and out of really tight spaces. You can see how compact his body is, how low to the ground Nguernieri starts, and this gives him the ability to turn on a dime either way, importantly, and I would not describe Ethan as quick or even possessing a real burst in the initial five yards, but what makes him so effective in the carry is how he glides into motion so quickly. He gets into gear very, very quickly. He possesses these short strides that keep the ball really close to him, so when we're looking at Nguernieri in profile, you sort of begin with the image in your head of this uber technical small space king with incredible poise and balance and natural instincts, but by the time, well I hope by the time you're done watching this, you see he's so much more than that. He has an engine to him, he has such a plethora of options on the ball and a real lack of angle bias despite being one foot dominant, giving him a larger zone of influence. He always seems to make the right decision too, which for someone with so many options available to them, is staggering at such a young age. At heart, he is this unassuming, humble, but strongly self-confident player. That is Ethan Nguernieri as a personality, a mental profile to a tee. I think the common theme across the youngsters in this video and on the US tour is their physicality in this group of Arsenal players. They're all either unique in some way and or are able to already compete at Premier League level. Nguernieri, for example, has this real engine out of possession and partners this with a real willingness to defend. And I guess with Odegaard as your point of reference, as sort of Arteta's attacking interiors, it's no surprise that you can tell Nguernieri's body is ready with how well he rides challenges, that sort of spongy absorption of contact with familiar Arsenal in the past with your Cazorlas, your Wilshires, your Fabregases. But to finish, where do I see Nguernieri breaking through for Arsenal and what are his sort of realistic expectations for the upcoming 24-25 season? As I'm sort of getting at, I guess, he's more of a 10 than an 8, definitely, but he's also able to play that gobbler, shadow striker role against a physical backboard in the centre forward. And probably in terms of breaking through into this Arsenal team as depth minutes in the right wing when Saka needs a rest. Obviously, you need to provide Nguernieri still with movers around him in an overlap. He can't be your isolated guy, but with the right conditions, this could definitely work. And as for minutes next season, it really depends. I've seen a lot of people actually wanting Arsenal to buy that between the lines receptive presence. But although it is something we lacked last season, we can get all of that, I think, in-house. Nguernieri is the guy for that. And if you integrate someone like Mars Lewis-Skelly, who we'll get onto as well, if you keep Durian-Timber fit, if you keep Jesus fit, you get Saka inside more. And if we keep him, you can add Emile Smith-Rowe to that too. This type of profile is covered. It's definitely not a priority to source on the market. I'd like to give Nguernieri over 1,000 minutes next season because he's definitely ready. But with our current crop of interiors, I think we'll do well to see over 500 minutes. But giving him that clear pathway is an absolute must. Next up is Miles Lewis-Skelly. Now, if we're taking the theme of one key word for each prospect, mine for Lewis-Skelly would be irrepressible. You can't keep him down, not with his energy, not with his dynamism, his relentlessness. He will keep coming, no matter what. His carrying, his ball carrying, is his USP at the moment. And any motor that I'm suggesting Nguernieri has is doubled by Miles Lewis-Skelly. He's an athlete, and as an athlete, he is absolutely nuts. Again, he has that two-way threat on the dribble and doesn't just move tidily, but genuinely eats up ground in the carry. There seems to be, I think, a real introduction and push in this Arsenal side at the moment of having more and different varied types of press breakers with Timbers Return, hopefully someone like Lewis-Skelly, and California. Hopefully, again, we go through with the purchase for him. That's just to name but a few. And this is going to be key in how I want to take a step in how Arsenal evolve in our build-up with a bigger willingness and bravery to play out on the floor against high-pressing teams. And to tell someone Lewis-Skelly's USP is his carrying, but also to show them, are two completely different things because he is even more relentless, as you think, and physical. This shines in his defensive work, of course, too. His physicality is top-notch, and combine that with his agility and Lewis-Skelly's low centre of gravity, it gives him the potential to become a real ball-winning machine going forward down the line. At the moment, how I would define Miles Lewis-Skelly is as an accelerator, even in his passing. Take Jesus' goal against Leyton Orient, for example, using how fluidly Lewis-Skelly can shift direction and keep the ball on a string at the end of his foot, to find Nelson springing forward into those parts of the pitch between the lines, higher up, that we saw Declan Rice spurting into more and more in the second half of last season as he had more left eight minutes. But this also shows Lewis-Skelly's potential to grow as a different type of on-ball threat, a controller, a dictator of play, where at the moment he definitely needs a balancing act next to him in the pivot, like a Declan Rice. It would be far too vertical and progressive and hum and rush with someone like a Thomas Partey. Look at the timing on the release of Skelly's pass here. He's got the ability to take control over a game for a longer period of time, not just changing its flow in the moments, but of course changing the picture in a moment is something that is sought after across the world and it's something that we lacked. I think Mars Lewis-Skelly has a skill set in receiving against a press in the first lines of possession that we really don't have much of in the squad, especially without Partey and without Urien-Timber for large parts of last season. I think if any of you watch my video around, I want to say, October time of Odegaard and wanting him to become the all-fazer midfielder that he is now for us. One of the points was the knock-on effects this had in our dependency on Oleksandr Zinchenko and I used Zinchenko's possible departure down the line, which then seemed crazy but now seems realistic, for integrating Lewis-Skelly in the first team through that same inverted left-back role, the one he played against Leighton Orient. In this position, pinching in from left-back into midfield, it gives Lewis-Skelly the conditions, I think, to temper the aggressive side of his on-ball play but also channel that aggression into his defensive duties because his tenacity, his mobility, his low centre of gravity gives him such a big ceiling, I think, when defending 1v1s or backing up our press from that left-back position or long-term in that 6-8 left-centre mid interior role. I see him long-term. This is a guy in that left-centre mid who can do that dual job that we want our left-centre mid to do of jumping up in the press but also hovering next to Rice in the pivot and competing for second balls. It's a real demanding job that Lewis-Skelly has the athleticism to do for us. I think some people are going to bring up his left-footedness, his dynamism, on the overlap too and I think that's a very fair thing to bring up but I would say, like Timber, Lewis-Skelly's best work comes in the inside and if you want to see his overlaps, you're probably going to give him, or you're going to have to give him, that free-rolling left-back berth that Tomiasu had last season, that Calafiore may well play for Arsenal next season but, either way, Lewis-Skelly's relationship, if he ever broke into the team as a regular starter, with Martinelli, especially in that left interior role, has real, real legs to it, as I've sort of alluded to already. He's got a lovely passing repertoire that Mikel will also want to develop, including line breakers, in-behind passes, spreads of play, or sort of clips into the centre forward, into the channel, and going back to Nwanyeri playing as a higher ten or a shadow striker, we could potentially see Lewis-Skelly repurposing Partey's sort of verticality on the ball from deep, clipping a ball into Kai Havertz in the centre forward, with Nwanyeri gobbling up the second ball and springboarding our attack. This is looking, obviously, a long way into the future, and this is more just shoehorning these youngsters into the team, I get that, but it's just hypothetical thinking. I think, again, in terms of more things to improve on in his game, I want to see more of him being able to shuttle the ball from left to right more simply, but, again, I think any developmental issues for Lewis-Skelly are just that, they're purely developmental, he just needs To describe Lewis-Skelly, he's electric, he's a hard-to-keep-down progressor and accelerator who will still even surprise you with how intense and powerful his engine is. Add Arteta's development plan on the ball to him, this is someone I think who genuinely rivals Nwanyeri in terms of talent, and maybe even surpasses him. Lastly, though, I want to touch on Aidan Heaven. I had the pleasure of watching Heaven on his Under-21s debut against Exeter last season, and as someone who has been quite big on him for probably over 18 months now, it's great to see how quickly he's now motoring through the ranks at Arsenal, obviously getting on the US Tour. Again, a unique physical specimen who is not far off being ready to compete in the Premier League, I don't think. He's definitely grown taller than the six-foot-two Google gives him, but he is surprisingly fluid for his lanky proportions, for want of a better phrase, because at times, I think, when you're can be stiff or too upright. This is something Kai Havertz has struggled with at times as he's learning a growing body, but not for Heaven. It helps that everything he does is with the mindset of a midfielder. He's been a 6'8 right up until playing with the Under-18s, and long-term, I would hope to still see him progressing back into a midfielder role, a 6'8 or a box-to-box. He's got those long, elegant strides, he's very easy on the eye, he carries the ball very gracefully for a tall man, and they're always initiated, these carries, by these sort of nonchalant feints or smooth turns. He sells presses in such a languid sort of way, and in and around this, he has real sparks of expression and attacking verve sprinkled in there too. He reminds me very much, though, of Abu Dhabi, mostly in terms of where he best will hopefully operate going forward in midfield, where he's allowed to drop behind the ball and then drive the team forward with him. But he also could be a valuable centre-back, able to step through into midfield, or a central centre-back, which utilises his ability in the build-up. He's got bags of composure as Heaven, he loves to play through the lines to switch the play, but he just takes so much responsibility on the ball, and that's what I like about him most, and I think it's why he's going to develop into a real leader going forward. In terms of deficiencies, I think he can be a bit one-paced at times, and if he continues to play minutes in the back line, because of course his body is still developing, if he is a left centre-back, you want to be inverting someone from another part of the pitch, not from left-back, because he's not going to be Gabriel when defending the channels, for example. But to finish off with one word to describe Aidan, it would be probably inconspicuous. He's easy on the eye, but often so easy that he can be overlooked and underrated. I think he is yet to be totally understood, but that's okay. He's only 17 years of age, but again, with such a unique mover and progressive option at Arsenal's doorstep, that theme of Arsenal reintroducing press breakers into our build-up, sort of build-up carousel now, as we're adding Calafiore to that as well, it takes another jump up with him down the line. Look, I wish I could go into detail on all the boys who have made the US trip, but I can give you overviews on your Nicholls, your Rosiaks, your Salah-Ulads in the comments below if you want. But that's all from me, I really, hope you've enjoyed the video. I'll catch you in the next one. See you later.