‘Absolutely unbelievable’ Arsenal youngster travelling with first-team to Porto

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Arsenal make their long-awaited return to Champions League knockout action when they face Porto away on Wednesday.

The Gunners are in last-16 first-leg action against the Portuguese Primeira Liga giants at the Estadio do Dragao.

If Arsenal see off their opponents in the tie, they’ll be in the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2010.

And according to Gunners youth team expert Jeorge Bird, Mikel Arteta has decided to name one of Hale End’s best talents in his travelling contingent.

Bird reported on Tuesday afternoon that Ethan Nwaneri is travelling with Arsenal to Portugal ahead of the big game.

Ethan Nwaneri looks set for Arsenal first team

This is an exciting report and it goes to show how highly Arteta rates Nwaneri, naming him in the travelling contingent for a Champions League knockout encounter.

The 16-year-old Arsenal midfielder became the youngest player to feature in a Premier League game in the history of the competition last season.

Nwaneri made a late cameo in the top-flight win over Brentford in September 2022, aged 15 years and 181 days.

He now has two Arsenal senior appearances under his belt, getting 13 minutes off the bench in the 6-0 hammering of West Ham earlier this month.

Nwaneri has also been shining for the Gunners at youth level this term, getting four goals and two assists from just five Premier League 2 outings and netting six in two FA Youth Cup appearances.

The ‘absolutely unbelievable‘ talent is already a cut above at Under-21 level, which is almost unheard of for a 16-year-old.

It looks as though there’s a good chance that Nwaneri may bypass the need for an EFL loan and be earmarked straight for the first team, as was the case with Bukayo Saka.