Ethan Nwaneri scored his first Premier League goal for Arsenal as Mikel Arteta’s side beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 to secure a first league win since October 5. Arsenal had the ball in the net after five minutes at the Emirates Stadium when Jurrien Timber bundled it home from a free-kick but Mikel Merino was judged to be offside from the initial header. There was no escape for Forest 10 minutes later when Bukayo Saka exchanged passes with Martin Odegaard then danced across the box before firing in the opening goal.
Advertisement Thomas Partey was sent on by manager Arteta at half-time to replace Jorginho , who had been booked, and the midfielder scored from distance on 52 minutes to cement Arsenal’s grip on the game. And in the 86th minute, 17-year-old academy graduate Nwaneri scored four minutes after coming on as a substitute — a moment he will never forget. Jordan Campbell analyses the key talking points.
How excited should fans be about Ethan Nwaneri? The game had gone into a lull in the 20 minutes after Partey made it 2-0 early in the second half but Arteta knew how to inject a new lease of life into the contest. He brought on homegrown midfielder Nwaneri, which sparked the crowd into life. He had not even made it onto the pitch before a chorus of “He’s one of our own” began ringing around the Emirates.
Nwaneri is still gently being introduced to the demanding world of the Premier League, but in every appearance he is showing flashes of the brilliance that made.
