Mikel Arteta has confessed Ethan Nwaneri has exceeded expectations at this early stage in his profession after scoring a brace of their Carabao Cup victory over Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday.
The 17-year-old helped his facet cruise to victory on the Emirates of their midweek conflict, making his second look for the primary workforce this season. He performed all 90 minutes, netting a objective simply earlier than after which simply after the break.
The teenager’s begin in Arteta’s squad got here lower than two weeks after he was introduced on within the last levels of Arsenal’s north London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur on September 15, throughout which he impressed together with his ranges of composure and maturity.
“I feel it was a very sturdy efficiency for him,” the Gunners boss informed reporters. “I feel he actually feels a part of us. You possibly can inform that he is taking part in with that confidence, that perception and the understanding of what he must do on the pitch. So, very impressed.
“It is one other step, I feel it is forward of what anybody might have anticipated, in his journey with the first-team he is at all times forward of what anybody anticipated and what I anticipated as properly. He is a part of us so he could have the minutes.”
The Hale Finish graduate shared his ‘surreal’ emotions after scoring two of Arsenal’s 5 targets in opposition to Bolton.
“I am so glad to have helped the workforce undergo to the subsequent spherical and simply prepared for no matter’s subsequent,” he stated. “It is an amazing feeling when the membership you like, the membership you’ve got grown up with the followers are chanting.
“So yeah, it is a good feeling. It is a surreal feeling. It’s a sense I’ve needed to really feel for nearly 16 years of my life so to truly really feel it, it’s loopy, simply need extra of it. All of these gamers that I’ve performed with since I have been like 9 and now we’re on the massive pitch collectively, it is a loopy feeling. You realize, it is good.”
