There were calls, perhaps justifiable ones given what we now know, for Mikel Arteta to be braver in September. Two years on from handing Ethan Nwaneri his Premier League debut at the age of 15, the crown jewel of Arsenal's academy had played limited minutes.

Last season he only made one league appearance. His upward trajectory stalled massively, doubters said. In reality it was only to a more even level that should be expected of someone still in childhood. Super critically, even not playing much senior football in a year left Nwaneri far ahead of his peers.

For the north London derby away to Tottenham, with Declan Rice suspended and Mikel Merino injured, Nwaneri was one of the few fit options available. When Arteta didn't play him from the start it caused genuine anger from some quarters.

Was Arteta withholding this demon from Arsenal? Was his conservative management putting the handbrake on and stunting the development of one of England's bright sparks?

If you don't trust him now - in the most pressurised environment possible for a full debut - then when will you? Arteta was actually being doubted on these things. Nwaneri is 17, by the way. Seventeen. There are players he has and will continue to come up against who are double his age and still operating at the very top.

Now? Well, now Nwaneri already has seven goals since then and was genuinely missed last month when he was out through injury. Let's not normalise this, it is a kid overthrowing adult football. Arteta and Arsenal are subsequently endlessly praised for the work to get Nwaneri to this stage, drip-feeding him the seconds of match exposure along the way.

It has taken two years to get to this point - which, it bears repeating, is very much more in line with typical professional progression, other than the fact he is still ahead of so, so many in a totally freakish and abnormal sort of way. Arsenal now have someone fully formed yet really still to be born.

He is maybe the most exciting and potentially even effective replacement on the right wing for Bukayo Saka. His competition has much more experience and an actual track record to fall on, but Nwaneri has a spark and a maturity which might not even be matched by Leandro Trossard or Raheem Sterling right now.

When he scored his first senior goals for the club against League One opposition Bolton Wanderers earlier this season there was celebration and rightful cause. Nwaneri played as someone who had done this regularly as he was put alongside a collection of academy hopefuls, most older than him. It was a moment to enjoy but not to dwell on because he has more to achieve right this second.

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The League Cup early rounds were dominated by him in the end. Before long, the performances against lower opposition that he was clearly too good to be playing weren't enough. Champions League minutes followed. More and more league appearances saw Nwaneri come from the bench. He started to be trusted as an impact sub over Sterling and others.

By late December and then early January he was the first-choice right winger, a position he took on without much warning or previous opportunity to learn, fitness circumstances taken into account elsewhere. Nobody really seems to have noticed that in the space of three months Arsenal went from having someone filling a peripheral squad role as the token academy graduate to maybe the best teenager in the division.

Maybe this is because he was such a big name at such a young age. Football forgets and moves on so quickly. Nwaneri, to most, could easily have been the next wonderkid to rise early and fall away. He isn't that, though, and rightfully deserves the tag of top teen.

If Nwaneri isn't that, still with over two years left before he turns 20, then maybe it is his fellow Hale End superstar. In Myles Lewis-Skelly Arsenal have sort of done the same thing.

There was always a hype around Lewis-Skelly, especially in youth football circles, but it wasn't quite on the same plane as with Nwaneri. Partially due to his position - Lewis-Skelly is nominally a defender who can play in midfield - and also the very normal fact he didn't make his debut before legally being able to drive a moped. Lewis-Skelly was the undercard to Nwaneri entering the season. That role seems to suit him perfectly.

In the last few weeks he has overtaken him to become the real centre of attention. Operating in a modern full-back role that also sees him stride into the centre of the pitch, it would be wrong to say he doesn't do what Nwaneri does.

Lewis-Skelly does glide past opposition players, he does use his preternaturally developed frame to his advantage, and he does carry himself with the aura of a senior professional. He fizzes passes at teammates and demands them back. He might not bend in shots to score goals...oh wait, no, he does that as well.

This is not to compare the two against each other but the Nwaneri train was understandably a lot fuller than the Lewis-Skelly one, especially to the more casual observer. Attackers, assisters, goalscorers, and offensive creators get more attention, that is just football.

Lewis-Skelly can create and impact play himself but not quite in the same way. It is to say, he isn't a forward like Nwaneri so he is cast aside a bit more. But Lewis-Skelly has become even more important to Arsenal and Arteta than Nwaneri of late.

His blend of skills has elevated the team when it matters. He is reliable and determined. Whereas Lewis-Skelly went under the radar throughout the winter as he was also cautiously allowed senior minutes, Nwaneri always captured the focus.

Someone dribbling past a player to have a shot is getting onto Match of the Day when another being in the right space to cut out an attack is not. They both play with such cleverness and intent but one is more geared towards social media highlight reels, not to downgrade the other.

Lewis-Skelley is very much in the spotlight now after his strike against Manchester City. The celebration and footballing arrogance that followed in his mockery of Erling Haaland were slightly juxtaposed to the wholesome interview he had with Ian Wright after excelling against Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium.

That was when Lewis-Skelly really started to get a few more headlines. He had been playing in the shadows previously as Arteta gradually unleashed another ready-made first-team player.

Instead of buying in the January window, Arsenal instead gave time to two of their own. They added two new players into the starting XI regularly (when fit) without spending a penny. It is the best money they may ever not spend, even better than Mykhailo Mudryk.

Now they reap the rewards. Arteta will have more cash to spend in the summer on a striker because when it comes to left-back they have depth. In midfield, between the No.6 and No.8 roles, they have more cover. As a No.10 they have a fresh face. On the right wing, another option again.

In September it would not have been easy to predict this being the case quite so quickly. This is the impact of versatile players and it was telling that against City, a side drawn to sell their young rather than play them, Arsenal showed their strength in depth. Now Arteta and Arsenal will get the attention warranted by new signings when Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly play. It is the highest honour.