Arsenal advanced through to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup after a win against Preston on Wednesday.
The Gunners beat Preston 3-0 at Deepdale in which goals from Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri sent Mikel Arteta home a happy manager.
But it was Nwaneri who was the real star of the show as he scored Arsenal’s second goal after 33 minutes with a fantastic solo effort from the edge of the box.
The 17-year-old academy product could be a future star for the Gunners and has now scored three goals in two Carabao Cup games for Arsenal this season.
Gunners fans took to X to react to Nwaneri’s Man of the Match performance at Deepdale.
Needed to start premier League and bench trossard
— world powers (@worldpowers100) October 31, 2024
So well deserved!!! That strike was🤌🏽🔥🔥pic.twitter.com/zV17Q1Yc6e
— Gunner 4 Life (@_Gunner4Life_28) October 31, 2024
Congratulations to Ethan Nwaneri for being named Player of the Match!
His performance was outstanding and a testament to his talent.
Exciting to see a young player shine like this! Keep it up!
— सूर्यांश ᯓᡣ𐭩 (@SuryanshLive) October 31, 2024
Amazing talent.
— Tom (@mrtfuves) October 31, 2024
We need to free this guy and give him more game time in the PL
— Peace (@JesusNotGod_) October 31, 2024
The new star boyhttps://t.co/gCFk8ZVgRA
— Dr. Layla 😇 (@Afc_Layla) October 31, 2024
Nwaneri shone brightly, proving his worth with skill and flair. Arsenal’s future looks bright with talents like him
— KangarooHere 🦘 (@KangarooHere) October 31, 2024
Play him in the next Premier League game! 💯💪
— The Walkthrough Wizard (@TheWalkthrouWiz) October 31, 2024
The lad is shining 🌟👏
— LOGICALLY 💡👻 (@Timmieloner) October 31, 2024
Ethan Nwaneri getting more and more game time
The Arsenal youngster has been featuring a lot more recently as the Gunners’ injury concerns have mounted. With Martin Odegaard still out in midfield, Nwaneri could yet get more game time over the next few weeks.
He has made seven appearances so far this season including four in the Premier League which means Mikel Arteta clearly has a lot of trust in the 17-year-old despite his lack of experience.
He could begin to feature more regularly as a substitute both in attacking midfield or on the wing so as to ease the heavy workload that Bukayo Saka has at the moment. He’ll be hoping to feature this weekend as the Gunners play Newcastle.
