Declan Rice was full of praise for Ethan Nwaneri as he continued his remarkable breakthrough, scoring during Arsenal’s 7-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.
The teenager netted Arsenal’s second when Myles Lewis-Skelly fired in a low cross towards the six-yard box to find Nwaneri who hit the ball into the roof of the net. He broke a record, becoming the third youngster to score in the history of the Champions League knockout stages as well as being only the third English player to start a game in the knockout stages.
Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden are the other two Englishmen to have achieved the same landmark. Nwaneri now has eight goals across 27 appearances in all competitions this campaign.
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Speaking to Amazon Prime after the game, Rice described the 17-year-old’s performance as ‘top’ before claiming he’d still be getting minutes in the side even if Bukayo Saka were fit. The more senior Arsenal winger has been one of, if not the standout performers for the Gunners in their renaissance, but Nwaneri is proving to be a reliable deputy and match winner in his own right.
“He’s 17-years-old playing on the biggest stage in football. It’s crazy,” Rice said.
“We see him everyday and all of the lads are taking him under their wing. The same with Myles [Lewis-Skelly] and they deserve to be playing. You should see them train, they way they have no fear, the way they want to perform, he was brilliant tonight.
“Listen, even if Saks was here, Ethan would still be in and around the team and getting minutes. Trust me, he trains that well and he’s that good.
“He’s with us, same with Myles even though he came off because of the yellow card, we have two youngsters and we have plenty more coming through who are so, so good as well. Such a big night for us and now onto the home game. Nothing is done yet, we’ve got to keep pushing and see what happens.”
Arsenal take a 7-1 lead to the second leg tie at the Emirates Stadium next Wednesday.
