Ethan Nwaneri impresses for Arsenal in pre-season friendly against Bournemouth
|Arsenal started their pre-season tour of the United States against Bournemouth on Wednesday.
The Gunners were missing several senior players after their international commitments, but manager Mikel Arteta managed to find the right balance between experience and youth.
Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Salah Oulad M’Hand and Ayden Heaven got the nod in the starting XI and none of them disappointed. The quartet made their mark in the friendly.
In our opinion, Nwaneri was probably a cut above the rest. The 17-year-old started from the left central midfield role. He played 84 minutes, winning an impressive seven duels.
The youngster had a pass accuracy of 86 percent. He also caught the eye with his quick dribbling with pace from his own half. He won two take-ons, creating two key chances.
Of course, he was guilty of losing possession on eight occasions but overall, it was a good outing for the teenager, who is aiming to make his breakthrough into the first-team squad.
Nwaneri is widely regarded as one of the finest young graduates in the academy. He is a number 10 by trade, but can also operate from the number eight position or out wide.
With a number of senior players arriving late after their vacation, Nwaneri should get a more prominent role in pre-season and has the opportunity to impress manager Mikel Arteta.
Lewis-Skelly is definitely another talent to watch out for. He was played out of position at left-back and caught the eye with his ability to invert into a central midfield role.
The 17-year-old completed 100 percent of his passes. Like Nwaneri, he will be hoping to become a regular part of the first-team set-up in the forthcoming campaign.
Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth before winning on penalties. Fabio Vieira scored the opening goal with a fine volley from a chipped cross from Reiss Nelson.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com