Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri celebrates scoring their second goal with Arsenal’s Mikel Merino and Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior REUTERS
When Ethan Nwaneri received a ball at the edge of the circle, made space to his left and fired in an absolute peach of a strike to the top corner, Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta was not surprised. The 17-year-old’s stunning goal in the Carabao Cup against Preston North End help his side to a 3-0 win and reach the quarterfinals
“He did it yesterday in training so we’re getting used to that,” Arteta said after the match. “He’s a big talent, he’s got the right attitude, he’s got the right players and context around him and we need to make sure we put brick-by-brick in the right tempo, the right order.” The Spaniard then added with a confident smile: “We’ve got some player there.”
Nwaneri has now scored three goals in two starts for the Arsenal first-team in the Carabao Cup. “He’s got this quality, this personality, he’s there to make things happen, he doesn’t care who’s around him, if he needs to make the decision on his own, he does it,” Arteta said.
A complete team performance 💪
Watch the highlights from our 3-0 victory over Preston in the Carabao Cup 📺 pic.twitter.com/9i8SCPGK0c
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 31, 2024
In September 2022, Nwaneri became the youngest player to feature in Premier League, when he came on as a substitute against Brentford. He was 15 years and 181 days old. “It was a pure gut feeling,” Arteta had said then. “I met the boy, I really liked what I saw. Obviously Per (Mertesacker, head of Arsenal academy) and the academy staff gave me really good information about him as well.”
“He’s showing everyday what he’s capable of… we have some player there!”👌🏻
What an evening for @Arsenal and 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri!😮💨
🔗https://t.co/3ixOzJVn0C pic.twitter.com/gWwmqCHHfS
— Hayters TV (@HaytersTV) October 30, 2024
Nwaneri, who idolised Jack Wilshere growing up, had told Arsenal’s website: “Growing up as a Gooner, it was always a dream of mine to play for this club. I grew up near the stadium in Islington and all of my family are Arsenal fans too. I’ve always been Arsenal at heart, but my journey actually started at Chelsea.” Having moved around the different London clubs like Chelsea, Tottenham and West Ham, the March 2007-born footballer joined Arsenal in May 2015 and has gradually risen through the ranks. He signed his first professional contract in March 2024.
With captain Martin Odegaard injured for a few weeks now, Nwaneri has been regularly included in the matchday squad for Premier League games as well. While there has been a clamour for Nwaneri to get more minutes regularly, Arteta has been careful with fielding him.
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