What Ethan Nwaneri is really like behind the scenes at Arsenal after impressive display vs Bolton

Add as preferred source on Google

As far as perfect nights go, Ethan Nwaneri’s full Arsenal debut was everything he would have hoped for.

Nwaneri starred at the Emirates scoring his first two goals for Arsenal whilst also impressing with his maturity and strength on the ball – the complete package.

Perhaps the 17-year-old was previously Mikel Arteta’s best kept secret, a youngster he was protecting from the limelight too soon.

Well, the secret is out – Nwaneri is ready.

Without Martin Odegaard due to an ankle injury, there’s serious merit to starting the young Englishman against Leicester City on Saturday – a game when his creativity might be needed.

If Leicester do arrive in a low block, not having Odegaard’s delicate repertoire of passes could be an issue, something Nwaneri can help solve.

Nwaneri looked so comfortable playing on the right side of the midfield next to Bukayo Saka on the wing, a player he’ll be hoping to emulate.

Ethan Nwaneri has never been arrogant despite his brilliance at Arsenal

That being said, after his breakthrough performance on Wednesday evening against Bolton Wanderers, Telegraph Sport have now provided some behind the scenes details on Nwaneri at Arsenal.

The 17-year-old has excelled for Arsenal’s Hale End Academy sides over the past few years, always playing above his age group.

READ MORE: Arsenal and Man City both interested in signing ‘fast’ winger who is the ‘master of everything’

However, the report states that Nwaneri has never been arrogant, he’s never acted up despite the hype around his potential.

Although he’s always been obviously superior to the majority of the academy players around him, Nwaneri has always stayed humble.

If anything, the midfielder is considered one of the more shy and reserved players.

Nwaneri is very popular at Arsenal because he’s always stayed grounded, a relatively quiet member of the dressing room.

Raheem Sterling already improving under Mikel Arteta

Of course, Arsenal’s 5-1 win over Bolton was also an excellent night for Raheem Sterling.

Sterling also made his first start in red for Arsenal, scoring and assisting in the straightforward victory.

And although there are bigger tests to come, Arteta thinks Sterling is improving at Arsenal, perhaps someone he will hand serious minutes on against Leicester City.

Gabriel Martinelli seems almost certain to start on the left, but the Brazilian will often share his minutes with Sterling now, who didn’t come to N5 to play a backseat role.

A healthy situation for Arteta, who has always craved this level of competition across all positions.