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Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey was left impressed after Ethan Nwaneri's efforts against Brighton.
Arsenal's 1-1 draw away to Brighton wasn't the result that Mikel Arteta wanted, but he may have unearthed another Hale End gem in Ethan Nwaneri.
After some impressive outings this season, Nwaneri was handed the start against Brighton over Kai Havertz, who has been dealing with a virus for what feels like forever. It was a big chance for the teenager to stake his claim on a starting role, and in the first half, he opened the scoring.
Set free by Mikel Merino's pass, Nwaneri drove into the Brighton box and lashed his shot home.
It is another impressive feat for the Hald End graduate, and fellow midfielder Thomas Partey was left impressed at Nwaneri's game.
“He’s a very good player and we know the qualities he has,” Partey said via arsenal.com. “He’s working a lot and he’s improving. I’m really happy for him for scoring. It could have been better if we’d have won but we could not get the win. He needs to keep improving and all the best to him."
Such has been Arsenal's season that Arteta's side couldn't enjoy the good vibes for too long, with Nwaneri forced off at halftime with a muscular injury.
Arteta stated post-game to the BBC that it looks like the Gunners have "lost him" so we will wait over the coming days for news regarding how bad his injury is.
With the fixtures now coming thick and fast, Arsenal can't afford many more injuries to a squad that is already thin. Seemingly not wanting to invest in the squad unless they have to in January, the Gunners are trying to plug holes in the boat as they come up.
The only problem is that the holes are appearing quicker than Arsenal can plug them. In Nwaneri's case, he was in the side to cover Havertz. Such is the Gunners' predicament that even Martin Odegaard, who was under the weather, was forced to be on the bench and even play due to a lack of numbers.
But at least we know that when Nwaneri does return, Arsenal has a dynamite talent on its hands, and perhaps more importantly, has cover for Bukayo Saka who is injured himself with a hamstring injury.
However right now, Nwaneri's rise is small consolation as Arsenal deal with a mounting injury list while trying to reel in league leaders Liverpool.