Ethan Nwaneri came on for Thomas Partey as a substitute in the late win over Leicester City, and from the onset, he took on a couple of defenders before curling an effort that was saved by the in-form Leicester goalie, Mads Hermansen.

Mikel Arteta was effusive of praise for Nwaneri in his post-match press conference,

“I brought on Ethan and the guy, at 17-years-old, his first action is to go past two, three people and take a shot. I just love it. If you want to be here and play at that level, you need to have that courage. I really value that from the team today.”

Ex-Gunner and current BBC Match of the Day analyst, Theo Walcott, echoed Arteta sentiments on Nwaneri, which bodes well for the highly-rated teenage.

Theo Walcott hails Nwaneri’s performance

Here was what Walcott had to say about Nwaneri’s performance against Leicester,

“The great thing about him, the first words that comes to mind, are fearless and confidence on the ball.With his first few touches, he’s direct, he wants to commit players and get the shot away. The end product is there. He’s a player that has been highly regarded in the academy. He wants to do things on the half turn. This man has a very good career ahead of him.”

At this point in time, Nwaneri is the only natural replacement for the injured Martin Odegaard in the squad and he showed his prowess in front of goal, scoring twice in the 5-1 demolition of Bolton Wanderers.

Arteta has some trust in the lad and I’m certain he will get more chances this season.