Nwaneri Shines As Arsenal Defeat Preston In Carabao Cup

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has praised Ethan Nwaneri, saying the young midfielder has the power to “dictate how quickly” he becomes a regular in the first team, following his standout performance in Arsenal’s Carabao Cup victory against Preston North End.

The 17-year-old scored an impressive first-half goal, curling in a brilliant shot after Gabriel Jesus had opened the scoring—his first goal since January—to set Arsenal on a solid path. Substitute Kai Havertz later sealed the 3-0 win for the Gunners, who will now host Crystal Palace in the quarterfinals in the week beginning 16 December.

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Nwaneri, a promising academy talent, notched his first senior goals in Arsenal’s 5-1 win over Bolton in the previous round of the tournament. He continued his strong form on Wednesday, hitting the crossbar and receiving cheers from traveling Arsenal fans as he was substituted near the end of the match.

“He’s a big talent, he’s got the right attitude and he’s got the right players and context around him,” said Arteta.

“We need to make sure that we build brick by brick in the right tempo, in the right order, but we have some player there.”

Nwaneri became the youngest player to feature in the Premier League in September 2022, when he came on against Brentford at the age of 15 years and 181 days.

Having already made four substitute appearances in the league this season, performances like the one Nwaneri delivered at Deepdale suggest it is only a matter of time before before he is given a much larger role.

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“He’s going to really dictate how fast that’s going to go, but I’m really happy with him,” Arteta added.

“There’s so much personality there. He wants to impose himself, he wants every ball, he wants to make things happen. He’s very respectful, his work ethic is tremendous and he loves what he does, you can tell that. I think he is showing every day what he is capable of.

“You see his team-mates, they are giving him the ball all the time, that’s a great sign. So we have some player there.”

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