Ethan Nwaneri and Arsenal wonderkid hit the ground running as Mikel Arteta sent reminder
Jobe Bellingham and Ethan Nwaneri following Borussia Dortmund's win over Hoffenheim.(Image: Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images)
Ethan Nwaneri made quite the impression on his debut for Borussia Dortmund at the weekend. The Arsenal loanee was thrown into the deep end, coming off the bench in the first half to replace the injured Filippo Mane, but he rose to the occasion and helped Niko Kovac's side come from behind to defeat Hoffenheim at the SNP Arena.
The German giants went behind shortly after Nwaneri came on, with Leon Avdullahu breaking the deadlock. Then, Tim Lemperle doubled Die Kraichgauer's lead just before the hour mark.
Serhou Guirassy then narrowed the deficit a few moments later, sparking the start of a brilliant comeback. Fabio Silva, who replaced Konstantinos Karetsas a couple of minutes later, levelled proceedings midway through the second half.
In the final five minutes or so, Jobe Bellingham took three players out of the game with a midfield-splitting pass. It was almost intercepted, but Nwaneri pounced on the loose ball and launched an attack on the home side.
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
The 19-year-old midfielder sprayed the ball out wide to Silva on the left wing. As the Dortmund striker invited pressure from the opposition centre-half, who had to race over to cover the space left by his full-back, Nwaneri darted through the vacant left half-space and into the box.
Silva returned the ball to the Arsenal loanee, who then wrestled off a challenge and zipped the ball into the six-yard box. Desperate to stop the ball from sliding across the face of the goal, with Guirassy at the back post and Bellingham making a crashing run, Albian Hajdari stuck out a leg, deflecting the ball into his own net.
"It was a good move from us," said the teenager, speaking to club media after the game. "Jobe found me in the pocket. I found Fabio, and then I think that was just some connections that we’re gonna start building. It was a good team goal, and hopefully we can do that a lot more."
Speaking to reporters after the game, Kovac heaped praise on Nwaneri for his key role in the comeback. The Dortmund boss said: "I liked what I saw. That’s what we brought him in for… Maybe it wasn’t officially his goal, but he created it."
Kovac added: "Nwaneri is physically fit. It’s very important when a player arrives having only trained twice that one can place one’s trust in him. If he hadn’t been fit, I wouldn’t have brought him on. Then the risk for me would have been too great."
On what Nwaneri could offer Dortmund this season, Kovac said: "He had that little bit of luck [on the own goal], but he worked hard for it. We signed him because we’re convinced he has top qualities. He proved that today, and we hope he’ll continue to prove it in the coming weeks."
Ethan Nwaneri made quite the impact on his Borussia Dortmund debut(Image: (Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images))
Although Nwaneri stole the limelight at the weekend, he wasn't the only Arsenal loanee to hit the ground running at a new club. So, with that being said, football.london has taken a look at how his colleagues got on.
Setford made his debut for Stevenage on Saturday afternoon. The 20-year-old goalkeeper helped Alex Revell's side win their first game of the League One campaign, defeating Barnsley 5-1 on the road.
Sagoe Jr will be in action on Monday night when Kalmar hosts Djurgardens. Despite having chipped in with a few goals and plenty of assists, the 22-year-old winger hasn't – yet – been able to guide the Swedish outfit away from a potential relegation scrap.
The Swedish top-flight, known as the Allsvenskan, gets underway in April, so he's already got 19 appearances under his belt this season. There wasn't a break for either the summer or the World Cup!
Kabia, currently on loan at St. Mirren, featured in a 2-1 defeat to Celtic on Saturday afternoon. The 20-year-old winger has started each of the opening three Scottish Premiership games, but he's yet to get off the mark.
Choose Football London as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.
