Ethan Nwaneri (17) has senior goals to his name, all coming for the Arsenal this season following his rise to prominent and more chances earned thanks to the injuries to several first team regulars for the club.
Only Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney had nine each have scored more for Premier League clubs before turning 18 in history than the Hale Ender, who now has just one game to play before his 18th birthday on the 21st of this month.
Nwaneri passed the chance to have a try again as he was an unused substitute in the 2-2 draw with PSV Eindhoven in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 meeting on Wednesday.
The youngster, recently promoted to England’s U-21, has set a couple of new records in the past months thanks to his sparkling performances both in the Premier League and the Champions League, the latter where he scored in his only two starts.
Mikel Arteta earlier in the month on Nwaneri equaling the new record: “I don’t think that he needs any pushing [to beat the record]! You see him every time he has the ball what the intention is, so if it comes, it comes and it’s great. It’s about consistency now, doing it again three days later in another big stadium.”
Can Ethan Nwaneri achieve History?
It’s a tricky one for the youngster following the return of Gabriel Martinelli from injury last weekend. The Brazilian maybe selected to start in the London derby on Sunday, which will limit the amount of minutes for Nwaneri.
He had a very good chance against PSV in midweek but Mikel Arteta choose to rest him, and not call for his services even as the visitors restored parity and earned a draw in the Emirates.
Despite the potential of him not getting enough minutes, Nwaneri has shown he can well deliver off the bench, with two of his eight goals coming as a substitute against Nottingham Forest and Manchester City.
Arsenal, who have an impressive record against Chelsea, winning nine and losing just one of their eleven meetings, will hope to have the game sealed in the time to avoid complications against a Chelsea team that hasn’t been consistent this season.
Nwaneri will have his sights set on history come Sunday, and whether or not he is selected to start, he will be open to taking his chances whenever it comes his way but more importantly, helping Arsenal secure all three points will be outmost priority come Sunday.
Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
