Arsenal narrowly beat Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon, thanks to two late goals from Mikel Merino.
Mikel Arteta introduced Merino as a striker with 22 minutes to play, and the Spaniard delivered with an astute header and a controlled finish to secure all three points for the Gunners.
The game ended 2-0, with the victory seeing Arsenal’s points gap to league leaders Liverpool reduced to just four.
While Merino stole the headlines with his two strikes, another Gunners star took the man of the match award.
Joe Cole compares Arsenal star Ethan Nwaneri to Lionel Messi
Merino got the goals, but Ethan Nwaneri was the one who provided Arsenal with the impetus throughout the game.
The teenager hit the woodwork twice, and produced an immaculate cross for the Spaniard to head home the opener.
Arteta waxed lyrical about Nwaneri after the game, although the Arsenal boss wasn’t even the most complimentary person to express their thoughts on the starlet’s display.
Speaking on TNT Sports, former Chelsea winger Joe Cole compared Nwaneri to Lionel Messi.
“These little touches in and around the box – I don’t even want to say it, but it’s like Lionel Messi,” the pundit said.
“I don’t want to put any more pressure on him, but the touches off the back foot entices the defender, then the touch off the toe to send him off balance. He plays with such confidence, a beautiful player.”
“Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have to protect him, they would have liked him to only play 60, 70 minutes today.”
Nwaneri played the full 90 minutes in the East Midlands, completing six out of seven attempted dribbles in what was a stunning showing.
Ethan Nwaneri has similar traits to Lionel Messi
While comparing anyone to Messi is somewhat ridiculous, Cole’s bold comparison isn’t that unreasonable.
Nwaneri’s close control, exceptional dribbling ability in tight spaces, and his wand of a left foot are all traits that he shares with the Inter Miami man.
If he can harness these attributes and hone them, then there’s no reason why the Arsenal Academy graduate can’t develop into a player resembling Messi.
The 17-year-old has demonstrated a capacity to score goals at an early age, and easily could’ve added two more to his tally on Saturday afternoon, crashing two shots against the woodwork.
The sky is the limit for Nwaneri.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
