Arsenal icon Martin Keown has questioned Mikel Arteta for failing to bring on teenage sensation Ethan Nwaneri in the Gunners’ 1-0 loss to Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
Hakan Calhanoglu netted the only goal of the match with a penalty in first-half stoppage time after Mikel Merino was judged to have handled the ball in the box.
Eight minutes before stoppage time, 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri came on for Leandro Trossard to make his Champions League debut, registering a shot goal attempt, despite his short stay on the pitch.
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Keown questions Arteta’s delayed substitution
After the match, Martin Keown questioned why Arteta hadn’t brought Nwaneri on sooner.
“I think it improved when Nwaneri came on,” Keown said, as quoted by Metro.
“And I thought when you see the quality he brings, he should’ve been on the pitch a bit sooner,” he added.
Nwaneri has now featured for Arsenal in three competitions: the Premier League, Carabao Cup, and Champions League, with the FA Cup being the only competition he hasn’t played in yet.
The loss adds more pressure on Mikel Arteta, as Arsenal have now lost back-to-back games and sit seven points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, who also top the Champions League standings.
