Teenage kicks for Ethan Nwaneri as Arsenal thrash Bolton 5-1
This competition may be somewhere down Mikel Arteta’s priority list but that doesn’t mean the Arsenal manager doesn’t value it. On a night that saw his fourth-choice goalkeeper Jack Porter become the youngest player to start a game for the Gunners at the age of just 16 years and 72 days in the absence of the injured David Raya, it was Ethan Nwaneri who caught the eye as the 17-year-old scored twice on his full debut.
After the fallout from their tempestuous draw against Manchester City, Arsenal never really looked like being turned over against opponents who used to revel in giving Arsène Wenger’s sides a bloody nose back in the days of Sam Allardyce as soon as Declan Rice had put them in front. Aaron Collins ensured that Bolton did briefly manage to make a contest of it after Nwaneri’s double strike either side of half-time. But having only lifted this trophy twice and not since George Graham was manager back in 1993, Raheem Sterling ensured it was a mixture of youth and experience that smoothed Arsenal’s progress into the fourth round with a goal on his full debut before substitute Kai Havertz added a fifth.
