BRIGHTON — Ethan Nwaneri, still just 17 years old, scored a beauty for Arsenal early at Brighton on Saturday.
Without putting too much pressure on Nwaneri, it turns out Arsenal have a very capable deputy for Bukayo Saka, with the England star out injured for the next few months.
Nwaneri has started each of Arsenal’s last two games and Mikel Arteta has said time and time again he believes the teenager is a special talent.
Arteta did take Nwaneri off at half time at Brighton and it was later revealed it was due to an injury.
“He felt some muscular issue,” Arteta said afterwards.
6+1 – Ethan Nwaneri (2 goals) became just the sixth player to score more than one Premier League goal before turning 18 years old after Wayne Rooney (7), Michael Owen (5), Danny Cadamarteri (3), James Milner (3) and Federico Macheda (2), and the first to do so for Arsenal.… pic.twitter.com/ecuruNKeeu
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 4, 2025
How did Ethan Nwaneri score for Arsenal at Brighton?
After great play from Rice and Merino in midfield, Merino dinked the ball over the top and Nwaneri curled home under Bart Verbruggen.
The youngster had been sharp early in the game and his finish was calm and he had a lot of time to think about it as he was completely unmarked as he ran towards goal.
Composure in a big moment like this is why Arsenal fans are serious when they say Nwaneri is the next big thing to come out of their academy.
It’s still early days, but the signs are very promising for Ethan Nwaneri and Arsenal.
