Mikel Arteta was delighted with youngster Ethan Nwaneri’s performance during Arsenal’s 5-1 win against Bolton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
The Hale End academy product shone at the Emirates, netting two goals to help his team secure a spot in the fourth round of the competition against Preston.
Nwaneri’s brace was embraced by the Emirates crowd, who in return chanted, “Ethan Nwaneri, he’s one of our own,” as they celebrated his goals.
And Arteta was also full of praise for Nwaneri’s quick progress and the respect he’s earned from his teammates.
He said: “He’s improving daily.
“They really respect him. You can tell he’s playing without pressure, with confidence, with a way of making decisions that tells you that the boy is ready at this level.
“Today he had a really strong performance and I’m happy to see that.”
A performance to be proud of 🪄
Tonight’s Player of the Match: Ethan Nwaneri 👏 pic.twitter.com/RlT5bDhnNQ
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 25, 2024
Gunning for glory
On top of Nwaneri’s display, Arteta also talked about the other positives from the match, including the opportunity to give playing time to first-team players as well as some young debutants.
He added: “A lot of positives to take from it, first of all the performance and then the way we scored the goals.
“We gave minutes, deserved minutes, to a lot of first-team players that needed them.
“As well we had obviously very important debuts as well that make us really proud.”
One of those making his first start for the club was Raheem Sterling.
The England international, on loan from Chelsea, rewarded Arteta’s trust with a goal in the second half.
💬 “A lot of positives to take from it, first of all the performance and then the way we scored the goals.”
The boss was pleased with how we secured our spot in the Carabao Cup Fourth Round 👇
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 25, 2024
And the Spaniard was pleased with Sterling’s contribution and noted that it was an important step forward for the player:
“He was great,” Arteta said.
“I think he’s started to show glimpses of what he can do, especially in attacking moments.
“Physically, he needs to get there to the level that we require, but I think it was a massive step today.”
