Ethan Nwanari \'Natural\', \'Confident\' Despite Being Just 17
Ethan Nwaneri scored in the 42nd minute of Wednesday\'s Champions League match to give Arsenal a 2-1 lead over Girona, which they were able to maintain for the duration of the game. Nwaneri, playing right wing in the absence of Bukayo Saka, cut inside to his left foot near the edge of the box to score.
“It\'s very natural for him,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said in his post-match press conference last night. “You can see the way he takes the touches, how he flows, how he picks people. And then the technique he\'s got when he\'s in motion, which is very good because he\'s so precise in his finishing.”
Nwaneri is a midfielder but his skill allows him also to play right wing. Nwaneri is still just 17 and will turn 18 in March.
Asked about Nwaneri\'s decisiveness in these actions and how rare that is at his age, Arteta added: “That\'s what we love about him. That he\'s willing to take the initiative to make things happen. He\'s very aggressive when he\'s on the ball and so confident. Before that, he had another action, a very similar one. He made the right choice, he went for it.
“He\'s a player that has the capacity to finish from every angle, and it was a very important goal.”