Owen Hargreaves hails ‘special’ Arsenal star after win over Nottingham Forest

Owen Hargreaves heaped praise on ‘special’ Arsenal star Ethan Nwaneri after the Gunners beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 on Saturday.

The match saw Nwaneri become Arsenal’s second youngest Premier League goalscorer, behind only Cesc Fabregas, after he netted the third.

The 17-year-old wonderkid had only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes when he conjured up a cool, first-time finish past Matz Sels.

It marked Nwaneri’s debut Premier League goal as he continues his remarkable rise at such a young age.

‘Brilliant player,’ football pundit Hargreaves told Premier League Productions about Nwaneri.

‘That’s what he is good at, on the half-turn, receiving the ball from anywhere.

‘Great weighted pass and gets himself into a great spot. Look at that. 17. He passes it into the goal, he doesn’t smash it.

‘Great cut back from Raheem Sterling. But this young man is really special. He’s going to be a feature for this Arsenal team for a very long time.’

Mikel Arteta also lauded Nwaneri after the victory against Forest and was delighted with what the Arsenal fans were chanting about the teenager.

‘He is the second youngest [Premier League goalscorer] in our history,’ Arteta told the BBC.

‘That’s a story in itself. He’s brave. You see the reaction of fans and they were singing ‘he’s one of our own’.

‘I think we have to put brick by brick and make sure the cement doesn’t get dry. Hopefully we can build a beautiful thing with him.’

Arsenal’s win over Forest snaps a four-game streak in the top-flight in which they failed to register a victory.