Kovač explains bringing Arsenal loanee Nwaneri on then off in Villarreal win | OneFootball

Kovač explains bringing Arsenal loanee Nwaneri on then off in Villarreal win | OneFootball

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·9 September 2026

Kovač explains bringing Arsenal loanee Nwaneri on then off in Villarreal win

Article image:Kovač explains bringing Arsenal loanee Nwaneri on then off in Villarreal win

Niko Kovač has explained his decision to introduce and then withdraw Arsenal loanee Ethan Nwaneri during Borussia Dortmund's 3-2 Champions League win over Villarreal on Tuesday.

Nwaneri replaced Konstantinos Karetsas in the 27th minute and was taken off in the closing stages as Dortmund protected their lead. According to BuLi News, Kovač said the change reflected workload management and the game state late on.


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He felt the teenager had emptied the tank, noting that if Nwaneri had started he would probably have come off around the 60th minute.

Kovač stressed the switch was not related to the 19-year-old's performance, saying it was the opposite and praising the impact he made in limited time.

Nwaneri did not register a goal or assist but attempted six shots after coming on, clipping the post with one effort.

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”

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