Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have both sent messages to Ethan Nwaneri on Instagram after Arsenal thrashed West Ham yesterday.
The Gunners were in fine form at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon as they hit West Ham for six. Declan Rice’s stunning effort in the 67th minute rounded off a dazzling display from Arsenal.
Bukayo Saka also bagged a brace while Leandro Trossard, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes got on the scoresheet.
As Arsenal cruised towards a comfortable victory, it gave Mikel Arteta the opportunity to hand Ethan Nwaneri some minutes.
The 16-year-old replaced Gabriel Martinelli in the 77th minute and following his cameo display on Sunday, he’s earned high praise from Rice and Saka.
Rice and Saka amazed by ‘special’ Nwaneri
Nwaneri took to Instagram on Sunday and posted a series of pictures of himself in action at West Ham.
His teammates flocked beneath the post to congratulate him on making his second appearance for the first team.
The likes of Aaron Ramsdale, William Saliba, Ben White and Martin Odegaard all left replies.
But Rice and Saka’s comments were the pick of the bunch, with the latter labelling the youngster a ‘baller’. Rice also lauded Nwaneri as a ‘special talent’.
Nwaneri became the youngest-ever player to feature in the Premier League last season after coming off the bench against Brentford.
He’s already been dubbed an ‘unplayable’ talent, with Rice and Saka the latest to point out the youngster’s potential.
Yesterday was the first time Nwaneri has featured for the first team since making history last season.
The Hale End Academy product didn’t have much time to impact the game. But he certainly looked bright after replacing Martinelli.
Arteta also admitted yesterday that he overheard Arsenal’s players ‘whispering’ for him to bring the youngster on. Nwaneri is highly rated at Arsenal and it was brilliant to see him get some more minutes under his belt on Sunday.