Danny Murphy questions Arsenal team selection and warns of ‘issues it could cause’

Danny Murphy has spoken about the dangers of elevating academy footballer to the first-term too quickly.

Mikel Arteta has been reserved in terms of youth development during his four years as Arsenal manager, giving seven academy players their first-team playing debut.

In their final Champions League group stage game, three teenagers were included in Arsenal's squad list to face PSV Eindhoven.

However, none of them made it onto the pitch during the game despite the fact Arsenal were already through to the knockout stages before the match.

The Gunners came away with a 1-1 draw against the Dutch club after Eddie Nketiah 42nd minute goal was cancelled out by Yorbe Vertessen's equaliser after the break.

One of the unused youngsters on the bench was 16-year-old Ethan Nwaneri, who has not played for Arsenal since his debut in September 2022, when he became the youngest player ever in Premier League history.

And talkSPORT's Danny Murphy — who made his own debut for Crewe Alexandra as a 16-year-old — revisited the warning he had given last September when Nwaneri made his debut.

He told Jim White and Gary Rowett on talkSPORT: «You've got to be really careful with the pathway you give.

»What are your reasons for bringing a young player into a squad and the team?

«Normally, it's to give them a taste of what's to come, because you see their talent and think, 'He's going to be part of this, sooner rather than later.'

»With a 15-year-old, you're dropping him into Arsenal's first-term and his Instagram goes through the roof, and all of a sudden he's going back to school or college around his mates and it's like 'Woah'.

«Are you really helping him?»

Back when Nwaneri made his debut, Murphy had voiced concerns that it might be too much, too