Arsenal star Ethan Nwaneri provided the perfect response to being left out of Lee Carsley's England starting XI for the opening game at the under-21 European championships against Czechia.
The Gunners teenager has enjoyed an impressive last six months with key first-team injuries seeing his minutes increase. Seven goal contributions arrived in 2025 with his impressive displays also saw him promoted from England's under-19s.
He played 71 minutes and scored in their 4-2 victory over Portugal back in March but he was named on the bench for Thursday's first group stage clash. Jonathan Rowe, Omari Hutchinson, James McAtee and Harvey Elliot were preferred in the front four.
The Liverpool star was the one deployed on the right over Nwaneri despite a mixed season at Anfield. The 22-year-old played just 360 minutes of Premier League football under Arne Slot but he has regularly featured for Carsley.
Given their existing relationship and Nwaneri's recent move up an age group, it is perhaps no surprise Elliot was picked over him, with his firm left-footed strike that put the young Three Lions ahead in the first half, as further justification.
Rowe added a second early into the second period but their opponents did pull one back moments later. With the game precariously balanced, Carsley looked to the bench which daw Nwaneri and Jay Stansfield introduced at the 69-minute mark.
Though he only had a limited period on the pitch, the 18-year-old made a big impact with some questions lingering over his club future. Holding the touchline, Nwaneri caused Czechia wing-back Martin Suchomel endless problems with his pace and smart footwork allowing him to break into the box on several occasions.
The first of those resulted in a shot flying wide of the target after a deflection while the other saw Archie Gray have an effort at goal blocked. Considering how successful his cameo was, it may be difficult for Carsley to not select him for their next game against Slovenia.
However, McAtee, Rowe and Elliot all picked up goal contributions while Hutchinson was bright. Following the victory, Carsley offered his thoughts on the display and boldly stated that changes to his starting XI would be made with it seemingly likely Nwaneri comes in.
"I think we can definitely improve but to get three points in the first game is always a bonus," he told Channel 4. "I think you have to bear in mind that is the first time this team has played together. I think it's important that we give them time and I've already said the longer we can stay in the tournament, the more fluid the team will become.
"We do a lot of preparation before hand in terms of the ability to recover and making sure we're protecting them as well. What we don't want to do is getting any injuries so we'll make sure they have a good recovery session and we'll probably make a lot of changes. We understand we're up against a good Slovenia team as well."
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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