It was yet another special night for Ethan Nwaneri, who dazzled for Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League knockouts.
Mikel Arteta opted to start both Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly in the first leg of Arsenal’s round of 16 clash with PSV Eindhoven.
The Arsenal manager’s call certainly paid off, as both players were involved in the goals, with Nwaneri making Champions League history as an English player under the age of 18 starting in a knockout game.
It’s becoming impossible for the 17-year-old to be held back due to his remarkable rise in the first team, shining once again on the biggest stage.
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Ian Wright applauds Ethan Nwaneri’s performance vs PSV Eindhoven
The Hale End product is shining so bright that Declan Rice believes Nwaneri will start even when Bukayo Saka returns.
It’s huge praise for the teenager and nothing short of what he deserves for the quality and maturity he’s shown throughout his breakthrough campaign.
During Arsenal’s 7-1 thrashing of PSV, Nwaneri gave the opposition a hard time on the right side, often drifting into dangerous areas, one of which ending in a goal.
Though Ian Wright watched Nwaneri closely throughout the contest, the Arsenal legend admitted that it was another player who caught his eye.
“Did you see how [Tyrell] Malacia was?” Wright said of the Manchester United loanee on the Wrighty’s House podcast.
“I was watching Malacia because he’s marking Ethan [Nwaneri] because they were doing a man-marking thing tonight and he was going all the way.
“I was thinking my gosh, he’s going to mark him all game, we’re going to see how he deals with this. But Malacia [laughs], Malacia got moved around.”
The 25-year-old defender, who made three Premier League appearances for United earlier this season, was ridiculed by Nwaneri, as Wright spotted when studying his movement.
Like every PSV player, it was a night to forget for Tyrell Malacia, who will surely be having nightmares about Nwaneri ahead of the return leg at the Emirates.
Nwaneri closing in on remarkable English record
Nwaneri’s teammates are excited to see what the future has in store for the teenager, who is in touching distance of a remarkable record.
Only Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen have scored more goals than Nwaneri for a Premier League club in all competitions before turning 18, which is staggering company to keep.
Breaking the record would be a statement for the Arsenal academy product but, it’s something that Arteta insists he doesn’t need to be pushed to achieve.
“I don’t think that he needs any pushing!” Arteta said after the Gunners’ win over PSV.
“You see him every time he has the ball what the intention is, so if he comes, he comes, and it’s great and really impressive again the way he behaved, the way he played tonight. It’s about consistency now, doing it again three days later in another big stadium.”
There are few players in the Premier League who have had a breakthrough season as exciting as Nwaneri, as seen through the records the teen is writing his name under.
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