Ethan Nwaneri has been the talk of the town since his brilliant performance for Arsenal against Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Cup.
The talented teenager was handed his first-ever senior start by Mikel Arteta on Wednesday night, and Nwaneri did not disappoint.
Starting in Martin Odegaard’s number 10 role, Nwaneri looked confident on the ball, showed off some silky touches and didn’t seem fazed by the occasion at all.
The 17-year-old scored a fantastic brace to help Arsenal win 5-1, and he has been receiving a ton of praise from the footballing world since.
Martin Odegaard has been helping Arsenal wonderkid Ethan Nwaneri
Ethan Nwaneri is a very special talent.
Not many players in the world get to make their senior debut at the age of 15 – it’s almost unheard of at a big club in the Premier League.
However, such was Nwaneri’s talent that Arteta brought him on against Brentford in 2022, and the youngster has been a household name since.
It’s difficult for people to understand how much pressure Nwaneri must have been under at the time – both on and off the pitch. Odegaard is one of the very few people who would’ve known just how it felt.
The Norwegian became a global name at a similar age when he burst onto the scene in the Norwegian top flight, attracted interest from almost every big club in the world and then joined Real Madrid.
He experienced pressure that not many kids aged 16 or 17 usually would, which is why he is the perfect role model for the younger players at the club.
Reports have previously claimed that Odegaard has been mentoring Nwaneri at Arsenal, and The Telegraph have given some more insight.
It has been revealed that the Norwegian has ‘gone out of his way’ to help Nwaneri from the day he started training in the first team and is always giving him advice. He immediately took him under his wing.
The report says ‘Odegaard has made a conscious effort to look out for Nwaneri’, and the fact that they play in the same position makes it even better for the teenager.
Whatever Odegaard has advised Nwaneri behind the scenes seem to be working as the youngster showed his quality against Bolton in front of 60,000 people.
READ MORE: What Arsenal fans kept chanting after Ethan Nwaneri scored in EFL Cup clash vs Bolton Wanderers
Nwaneri is Arsenal’s next Odegaard
The number 10 role has often been described as a dying position in the modern game, but players like Odegaard debunk that assessment.
The Arsenal skipper is one of the best players in the Premier League, and it’s a joy to watch him play when he is at the top of his game.
Nwaneri has several similar traits to Odegaard.
Both players are left-footed, are brilliant on the ball, aren’t afraid to dribble past players, and their ability to create chances is excellent.
To add to that, both players can score goals – Nwaneri proved that against Bolton by netting a brace on his first-ever start for the club.
The teenager still has a long way to go, but playing with Odegaard and learning from him will definitely help Nwaneri become a top player in the coming years.
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