Arsenal star Ethan Nwaneri stole the show on his England U21s debut.
The teenager, who turned 18 just last week, was called up by Lee Carsley for the first time, and he got to make his full debut on Monday night against Portugal.
Nwaneri, who has had a tremendous season so far at Arsenal, made the U21s game look easy and scored a stunning goal after just 10 minutes.
Carsley absolutely loved his strike, and he made a very interesting point about that after the game.
Lee Carsley delivers verdict on Arsenal star Ethan Nwaneri’s goal for England U21s
Nwaneri has scored eight goals for Arsenal this season.
The youngster narrowly missed out on matching Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen’s record for most goals scored before turning 18, but his tally is still very impressive.
On Monday night, the 18-year-old took the ball outside the box, drove forward with it, cut inside and curled one into the corner. It was a trademark Nwaneri goal and he matched Jude Bellingham and Theo Walcott’s record with that strike.
After the game, Carsley compared Nwaneri’s ability to that of Chelsea’s Noni Madueke and claimed that nobody can stop goals like that even though they all know exactly what’s going to happen.
He said, as per the Evening Standard: “It’s definitely a finish he’s got. “Noni’s got the same finish where everyone knows exactly what’s going to happen, but you just cannot stop it. So you know he’s going to go, touch, finish and he took his goal so well.
“He took his goal so well but we have to keep remembering he’s 18, unbelievable isn’t it?”
Carsley also added: “What an impression he has made. It’s important we look after him and make sure that, going to the tournament in the summer, is the right thing.
“Obviously, we’ll work with Arsenal and make sure that we’re on the same page.”
READ MORE: Arsenal fans are questioning one thing after ‘dream’ Ethan Nwaneri full England debut
One Arsenal star needs to be careful about his place in the side
Nwaneri’s ability to consistently shoot on target from around the edge of the box is something Arsenal are currently lacking.
Thomas Partey and Declan Rice are capable of scoring from that distance, as is Martin Odegaard, but the Arsenal captain hasn’t scored too many over the last few months.
That is an area of concern, especially against teams who sit deep and defend for their lives. Nwaneri offers a solution with his shooting, and that could be bad news for Odegaard.
With Saka set to return after the international break, there is a chance that Odegaard will get dropped for Nwaneri if he doesn’t lift his game up to his usual standards.
Seeing a teenager take Odegaard’s spot will be a bad look, which is why the former Real Madrid man has to find the form that he showed last season
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