Mikel Arteta Hails Ethan Nwaneri After Impressive Cameo In Leicester City Win

By The Editor
on 29th September 2024

Arteta singles out Nwaneri…

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta hailed Ethan Nwaneri for his impressive cameo against Leicester City after a late show saw us clinch all three points having surrendered a 2-0 lead.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Arteta name-checked Nwaneri unprompted to highlight his delight at how the team responded to being pegged back.

The Spaniard praised the group for not feeling sorry for themselves despite producing one of the most dominant displays we’ve ever produced at the Emirates Stadium.

Registering close to 40 shots at goal with 17 on target while also having 75% possession usually leads to a comfortable night at the office.

However, a deflected header and a goal-of-the-season contender saw The Foxes level the game and almost sneak home with an undeserved point.

“You don’t feel sorry for yourself, you take ownership, you start taking more risks, everybody,” Arteta said about the team’s response to squandering a lead.

“Nwaneri, 17-years-old – he takes the ball the first one is an action like this, he runs past two, three players and wants to take a shot.

“I just love it, you want to play here, you want to be at that level you need to play with that courage. I really, really, really value that from the team today,” the boss added.

Whether it’s over-protection or stubbornness, Arteta must suppress those feelings and start Nwaneri in our next Premier League fixture – especially in Martin Odegaard’s absence.

The key to consistency is sticking to our style as diligently as possible so when our skipper picks up a serious injury, we should be looking to replace him with a player with an identical profile – that’s Nwaneri!

With this cameo against Leicester City coming just days after bagging a brace in his first start, the Hale End graduate is certainly applying the pressure.