Mikel Arteta makes Ethan Nwaneri admission after he did something he never ‘expected’ at Arsenal

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Mikel Arteta provided an insight into Ethan Nwaneri’s state of mind after Arsenal thrashed Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday evening. 

Arsenal put Bolton Wanderers to the sword at the Emirates Stadium, beating the League One outfit 5-1 in an EFL Cup clash. 

It was a somewhat unfamiliar looking Arsenal starting XI named by Mikel Arteta for this fixture. Debuts and first starts were handed to a number of players. 

Hale End academy wonderkid Ethan Nwaneri was one such player to make his first senior start for the North London club, making his fourth appearance in total. 

The 17-year-old certainly impacted this landmark moment in his nascent career in style. The youngster netted a brace, marking his first start with his first two goals for the club.

Nwaneri was one of the best Arsenal players on the pitch against Bolton and has certainly shown now that he is ready for more regular first team game time, even taking the relative quality of the opposition into account.

• READ MORE: Every Arsenal academy player to make their senior debuts under Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta admits Ethan Nwaneri surprise

Nwaneri has been highly-rated internally at Arsenal for some years, and big things have long been expected of the teenager. 

However, even Arteta has now confessed that the youngster has made progress faster than he anticipated.

Speaking after the demolition of Bolton, as quoted by Football.London, the Spanish coach said: “I was really happy for him because if not I know the reaction of his teammates if he didn’t score. He really feels part of us.

“Let’s go. It’s another step. In his journey he’s always ahead of what everybody expected and what I expected as well.”

What next for Ethan Nwaneri?

Nwaneri became the youngest ever Arsenal player when he made his first team debut as a 15-year-old back in 2022. Since then, he has been carefully managed and game time has been hard to come by.

Clearly, Arteta has been keen to adopt a cautious approach to his development and has been careful not to thrust him into the limelight too quickly. Nwaneri’s readiness to establish himself as a star is now beyond doubt though. 

Arsenal fans will want to see Nwaneri given plenty more opportunities to strut his stuff on the biggest stage this season, and few would bet against him making a significant impact for the Gunners between now and the end of the campaign.