Mikel Arteta makes exciting Ethan Nwaneri prediction | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta says young Arsenal star Ethan Nwaneri is ready to become a key player for the first-team after his impressive performance in the 3-0 Carabao Cup victory over Preston North End on Wednesday.

The 17-year-old netted the Gunners' second goal of the night after Gabriel Jesus had opened the scoring and nearly bagged a brace, seeing an effort come back off the woodwork.

It was Nwaneri's second start of the season, having also scored twice in the 5-1 thrashing of Bolton Wanderers in the previous round, and he has made four brief substitute appearances in the Premier League.

His goal was a stunner, curling into the top corner from distance, and Arsenal fans are unsurprisingly keen for the wonderkid to be rewarded with more regular opportunities by manager Arteta.

Arsenal were far too strong for Preston / Matt McNulty/GettyImages

Asked if Nwaneri is ready to break through, Arteta replied: "Certainly! If not he wouldn't have played tonight, he wouldn't have played three days ago against Liverpool.

"He's there. He's showing every day what he's capable of. You see his teammates, they give the ball all the time. That's a great sign. We've got some player there.

"He did it yesterday in training so we're getting used to that. He's a big talent, he's got the right attitude, he's got the right players and context around him and we need to make sure that we put brick by brick. But we have some player there.

"Well so much character there. He wants to make every ball, he wants to make things happen.

"Outside, around the boys, he's still a bit quiet but that's usual. He's still only 17 years old. His work ethic is tremendous and he loves what he does."

Arsenal don't face Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals until December and Nwaneri will hope to be rewarded with more game time before that clash at the Emirates Stadium.

The north Londoners are next in action on Saturday when they travel north to take on Newcastle United before battling Inter in Italy in the Champions League next week.