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Arsenal fans on X waxed lyrical about Ethan Nwaneri after he scored a brace to help the Gunners put Bolton Wanderers to the sword in their EFL Cup clash on Wednesday, September 25. The north London club secured an emphatic 5-1 victory at the Emirates over the League One club to book their spot in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.
Ethan Nwaneri was the talking point of the game, as he was really impressive for the Gunners against the Trotters. The Hale End graduate, who made his first start for Arsenal against Bolton, took full advantage of the opportunity as he had one of his best nights as a teenager on Wednesday. Prior to the match, Nwaneri had only featured in three games for Arsenal’s senior team as a substitute, and all those games were in the Premier League.
After Declan Rice (16') had put the Gunners ahead, Nwaneri got himself on the scoresheet and doubled his side's lead, tapping home Raheem Sterling’s cross in the 37th minute. He doubled his tally and extended their lead in the 49th minute as he capitalized on Chris Forino’s error to fire the ball home past goalkeeper Luke Southwood. The Gunners would go on to score two more goals in the second half to ensure a conclusive victory after Aaron Collins (53') pulled a goal back for the League One side.
Ethan Nwaneri hit the ball out of the park on the night. Apart from bagging a brace, he achieved an expected goals (xG) of 0.67 out of Arsenal’s 2.95 and was only surpassed by Raheem Sterling (0.85). He won the Man of the Match award for his exploits.
The Gunners fans took to X to laud the 17-year-old for his incredible performance.
One fan wrote:
''Thoughts on Nwaneri? Kid is special."
Another tweeted:
''Nwaneri is the truth wow."
''A star was born today Nwaneri," another fan commented.
''Ethan Nwaneri has everything it takes to be a first-team star. Future looks bright," one fan pointed out.
''Nwaneri plays with maturity. He should get more minutes to prove himself now that Odegaard is injured," another chimed in.
Arsenal will face Championship side Preston North End in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
Mikel Arteta says Ethan Nwaneri is ready after Arsenal thrash Bolton in the Carabao Cup
Mikel Arteta has claimed that Ethan Nwaneri is ready to feature in the club’s upcoming matches following his incredible performance against Bolton. When Arteta was asked in the post-match conference about Nwaneri’s performance, he said (via the club’s website):
“You know, he’s improving daily. They really respect him. You can tell he’s playing without pressure, with confidence, with a way of making decisions that tells you that the boy is ready at this level. Today he had a really strong performance and I’m happy to see that."
Nwaneri became the youngest Premier League player at 15 years, five months and 28 days when he came on as a subsitute against Brentford in September 2022. The previous record was held by Harvey Elliot for Fulham, who was aged 16 years and 30 days.
Arsenal will next be in action against Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday (September 28).
