James Goldman
Published March 26, 2025 3:48pmUpdated March 26, 2025 3:48pm
James McAtee revealed he was blown away by the quality Ethan Nwaneri exhibited on England Under-21 duty earlier this week.
The Arsenal teenager has enjoyed a stellar breakthrough season with his boyhood club, making his mark both in the Premier League and Champions League.
Nwaneri was, perhaps, unlucky to miss out on being parachuted straight into Thomas Tuchel’s senior England squad but made up for that disappointment by starring for Lee Carsley’s men in midweek.
Making his first start against Portugal, Nwaneri capped an impressive display with a trademark goal, cutting in from the right on his left foot and curling the ball into the far corner.
‘He’s a class player and in training he’s been unbelievable,’ City youngster McAtee told Mail Sport in Lorient after Nwaneri got his first taste of 21s football from the bench the previous week.
Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
‘I’m so impressed with him. I was doing finishing drills with him the other day and he was ridiculous, he wasn’t missing!
‘I was struggling to get them in and he just wasn’t missing, both feet as well. He’s a world-class player.’
Ray Parlour on Ethan Nwaneri
‘You want to play for your country whenever you can, there’s no doubt about that and I’m sure he’s the same,’ Parlour toldMetroviaNetBetSports Betting. ‘As much as you want to do well for your club you also want to develop in the Under-21s and get into the senior team.
‘But you have to have plans for young players and they do sometimes need resting. You can go back to Jack Wilshere back in the day – he’d become too important for the club when he was 17 and Arsene Wenger had to play him every week because he was that good.
‘That’s a good problem to have but you also look at how things ended for Jack and don’t want to repeat that.
‘Nowadays, though, you’ve got so many people behind the scenes looking at everything – their heart rate, their sprint numbers – and checking over them. They’re like top racehorses now and are looked after probably a bit better than in my era.’
Nwaneri’s immediate focus will return to club matters with Arsenal but he will have one eye on this summer’s European Under-21 Championships.
More Trending
Chelsea star told he has 'no future' at the club as struggles continue
Channel: FootballFootball2 days agoBy Louis Sealey
- Real Madrid 'most keen' to sign Arsenal superstar in summer transfer window
- Bayern Munich view Arsenal €125m transfer target as 'absolute dream' signing
- Chelsea plotting shock transfer move to beat Barcelona to £87m striker
Given the amount of football he has already played this term, Lee Carsley could be tempted to give Nwaneri the summer of and revealed he would be in constant contact with Arsenal between now and the end of the campaign.
He said: ‘What an impression he’s made.’ Carsley added. ‘It’s important that we look after him and make sure that, going to the tournament in the summer, is that the right thing.
‘We’ll obviously we’ll work with Arsenal and make sure that we’re on the same page.’
MORE: Andre Onana tells Man Utd he will leave Old Trafford on one condition
MORE: Chelsea and Man Utd learn staggering transfer asking price for Tyler Dibling
MORE: Chelsea set for huge Club World Cup payday as FIFA reveal prize money
Football Newsletter
Sign up and tell us which team you support to get personalised updates about your club.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy
