Arsenal returned to winning ways over the weekend as they thrashed Nottingham Forest 3-0 to earn a huge three points.
The Gunners have been struggling over late October and early November, with form being tough to come by across all competitions.
The international break may have come at the ideal time for Mikel Arteta to reset his squad and push ahead with the Premier League title challenge.
While Bukayo Saka and Thomas Partey set Arsenal up nicely in the match, there was a bonus late on as Raheem Sterling combined with Ethan Nwaneri to score the youngster’s first league goal.
It was an important moment for both, who will be looking to kick on from landing their first goal involvement for the club in league action.
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Raheem Sterling reacts to Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest
Since Sterling’s loan transfer from Chelsea, hasn’t had many opportunities to prove himself capable in the side.
His short substitute cameo against Nottingham Forest could be the start of an important period for the winger though.
An assist opens his goal involvement account for the season in the Premier League, which is always a good start point, even for a player of his experience.
Setting up Nwaneri also helps the youngster kickstart his own run that the pair will now be looking to embark on.
Taking to Instagram after the game, Sterling said: “+3 Points & First of Many 👏🏽 @ethan_nwaneri.”
While the three-word message “First of Many” may be directed at Nwaneri, there may also be hope that it’s also the first of many goal involvements for the forward himself too.
With a busy fixture schedule ahead, there should be opportunities for the pair to get plenty of game time and to prove why they’re valuable to the team.
Raheem Sterling could be a key mentor to Ethan Nwaneri
It may seem a while ago now, but in 2012, Sterling was in the exact position that Nwaneri finds himself in right now.
Aged just 17 years old, the winger made his debut for Liverpool before going on to impress for them on a regular occasion.
Sterling made his big break in the 2012/13 season before improving in 2013/14 and 2014/15, before the big switch to Manchester City.
As a promising youngster, he knows all about the pressures of finding game time, taking opportunities and stepping up to elite levels.
While he is still just 29 years old, Sterling has experience far beyond his years and it’s something he can use to help mentor Nwaneri through these early matches in his career.
It remains to be seen exactly what the Arsenal youngster is capable of, but there’s plenty of support there to help him progress into the talent plenty expect him to be.
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