Ethan Nwaneri scores 20-yard finish as he impresses on England youth duty
Arsenal midfielder Ethan Nwaneri is pushing for first-team minutes with the Gunners at the moment, in the absence of the injured Martin Odegaard, and he continued to make his case over the international break.
Nwaneri was called up by the England u19s, and he was named as captain for two of their three games, coming off the bench in the third.
The midfielder went on to score in both of his starts, first against Portugal, and then against France.
Nwaneri’s goal in the Portugal game came in a 2-1 defeat, and he scored it from the penalty spot. It was good to see him taking on that responsibility as captain, but it’s a goal you would have expected him to score.
The France goal was more impressive, with the player picking up the ball on the right, cutting in on his stronger left foot before finding an excellent finish from 20 yards out.
Nwaneri played 68 minutes, coming off with his team 3-2 up. They added a fourth after his substitution to secure the result.
The Arsenal youngster now has five goal contributions in six games for the England u19s, and he’s clearly considered the team’s star man as captain.
It’s worth remembering that Nwaneri is still only 17, so he’s playing above his age group even at the u19 level.
In club football, Nwaneri has solely made appearances for the Arsenal first team in 2024/25, scoring two goals in his three games – albeit that both were against lower-league Bolton Wanderers.
It remains to be seen how Mikel Arteta uses Nwaneri over the coming weeks, but the player is making it clear he’s ready for more chances.
