‘Outstanding’ Arsenal teenager ‘a real part’ of first team with debut brace proving he belongs
David Ornstein feels Arsenal teenager Ethan Nwaneri is now a “real part” of the club’s first team, following a brace in his first senior start, in the League Cup.
Nwaneri made his debut as an Arsenal first-team player at 15 years old, in a one-minute Premier League cameo against Brentfod in 2022/23, the only time he was included in a top-flight squad that season.
Two years later, he made his first senior start for the Gunners, and made it count, bagging a brace in a 5-1 victory over Bolton in the League Cup, in which he played the full 90 minutes.
Ornstein feels the youngster has shown himself to be a genuine first-team option with that performance.
“He’s [Mikel Arteta] shown confidence in Nwaneri, who I thought was absolutely outstanding tonight, if you watch him with both feet, his balance on the half turn, creating, scoring, full of confidence,” he said on Sky Sports’ Back Pages podcast.
“He’s a real part of the first-team setup now, at just 17 years old.”
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Nwaneri crashed the box to meet a Raheem Sterling cross and slide it in for his first goal, before a shot from just inside the box beat the keeper for his second.
The youngster certainly did not look out of place, and after having made one Premier League appearance this season, from the bench, with Martin Odegaard out of action, there could be more opportunities for him.
Indeed, he was playing against a side currently struggling in League One, but Nwaneri has shown he can perform in senior football, while gelling with the first-team member of the Arsenal side.
It would not be a surprise to see him slowly make more appearances, especially in the absence of Odegaard.
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