'He will get minutes' - Mikel Arteta on EFL Cup star following impressive Emirates debut

Mikel Arteta was full of affection for his academy stars who helped secure a 5-1 win over Bolton in the EFL Cup third round. Declan Rice opened up the scoring but the England international was soon joined on the board by Emirates debutant Ethan Nwaneri, Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz.

Nwaneri, 17, had a spectacular N7 debut and his head coach has confirmed that it won’t be long before we are seeing the midfielder appearing more frequently in the league.

Speaking to the media after the full-time whistle, Arteta said of the teenager: “(It was)a really strong performance. He really feels part of us, you can tell that he’s playing with that confidence, that belief and that understanding of what he needs to do on the pitch. Very impressed. 

“He’s ahead of what anybody could expect. In his journey with the first team, he’s already ahead of what everyone expects, what I expected as well. He will have minutes.”

However, it was not just Nwaneri who received plentiful praise for his boss with 16-year-old record-breaking goalkeeper Jack Porter also earning plenty of applaud.

It was arguably a far more nervous looking outing for the shot-stopper but commendable none the less with Arteta quick to offer his congratulations on how well the 16-year-old handled such an outing.

“We told him yesterday and straight away I think he spoke to his family, they weren’t prepared for that!” Arteta added. “It was a big occasion, and I think they were nervous about it! I think he reacted really well. He was really composed in training, and today. His teammates really helped him. What an experience and what a way to break a record.”

“Jack has been training with us since pre-season and we’re confident that he could do the role. He plays in the national team, we’ve seen what he can do and we believe he was the right choice.”

Of all the under 18s making their first starts for the Gunners, it was also 29-year-old Raheem Sterling’s first time in the Arsenal starting XI and, while it evidently took the winger moments to adjust on the pitch, the Chelsea loanee went on to enjoy an assist and score what he will hope to be the first of many goals in red and white.

When probed on how he felt Sterling performed, Arteta admitted: “He’s getting better and better. Physically you can see he’s making the steps. What he can do, what he can deliver, he was involved in a few goals so very positive night for him.”

“(It was) a really positive night in every sense” the Gunners head coach added. “The result, the performance, we gave minutes to a lot of senior players and they put in the quality tonight and on top of that we gave opportunities to a lot of academy players and they did really well. 

“It’s just so fulfilling to see their faces, their reaction, how much it means to them. (A) great night.”