‘He means business' – Ethan Nwaneri in amazing body transformation as Arsenal teen bulks up for new season
Advertisement
8
Arsenal fans have been impressed with Ethan Nwaneri's new filled out physique
Credit: Getty
8
The 18-year-old appears to have bulked up over the summer
Credit: Getty
8
Nwaneri looked less physical last season
Credit: Getty
The teen prospect looks to have bulked up after pictures emerged of him during the Gunners' pre-season tour in Singapore.
Nwaneri has been tipped for a big future ever since he made his debut for
Now supporters are ready to see him take the next step after he broke into the first team on a more regular basis last season.
The versatile midfielder racked up nine goals and two assists in all competitions last season in what was effectively his first full campaign as a first team player.
Advertisement
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
Fans online have suggested that Nwaneri "means business" with his new filled out physique after
The
Nwaneri's current terms expire at the end of the season, but it's claimed he will sign the dotted line on a fresh five-year contract in the coming days.
There had been suggestion that
Advertisement
Most read in Football
8
Nwaneri made his Arsenal debut aged just 15
Credit: Alamy
8
The midfielder impressed in his first full campaign last term
CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
When he does officially sign on he will join pal and fellow academy graduate
Advertisement
Lewis-Skelly, 18,
'It's like Messi... there I said it' - Pundits rave about Arsenal ace Nwaneri as Shearer dubs him 'potential superstar'
The breakout star of last season is understood to know be one of the highest paid teenagers in world football.
Arsenal are thought to be ready to offer similar terms to Nwaneri.
Arsenal fans have plenty to be excited about when it comes to the future of the club and their impressive crop of Hale End talent.
Advertisement
As well as Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly,
While
8
Myles Lewis-Skelly signed a new five-year deal with the Gunners last month
Credit: Getty
8
Highly-rated teen Max Dowman is part of Arsenal's pre-season squad
Credit: Getty
Advertisement
8
Young centre-back Marli Salmon has also made the grade for the Asian tour
Credit: Getty
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Chelsea rocked by disappearance of £30,000 worth of equipment from Blues' Cobham training ground as police called in
CHELSEA have been rocked by the disappearance of £30,000 of camera equipment from their training ground. The Blues called Surrey Police after the gear was reported missing from their Cobham HQ. 3 Police were called to Chelsea's training ground this week Credit: GETTY 3 The Blues rang the old bill after over £30,000 worth of camera equipment went missing Credit: GETTY Play Dream Team now! Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play Over £100,000 in total prize money Play in Mini Leagues against your mates Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw Play via Dream Team's app or website today! It remains unclear whether the hi-tech video equipment has just been mislaid and will come to light once all staff have returned from holiday. But the incident is suspicious enough for the club to have involved the police. Top football clubs like the world champion Blues make extensive use of video footage from training and matches to help players' physical, technical, tactical and mental performance. Chelsea declined to comment about the timing and circumstances of the discovery that the equipment was not where it should be. READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS 'Sell him at half time' Arsenal fans demand struggling star be AXED after shocking display But if a crime has been committed, it won't be the first in the leafy Surrey suburbs to affect the club. A number of Chelsea players have been the victims of break-ins at their mansions near the club's training base. Raheem Sterling's home was targeted in December 2022 while he was with England at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with a group of burglars stealing £300,000 of designer watches. Sterling flew home from the tournament to comfort his family before returning to the Middle East. SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN 3 Albanian Emiliano Krosi was later jailed for more than 11 years for his part in the raid and 32 other burglaries across the South East. Sterling was the fourth Chelsea player to have his home burgled in a relatively short space of time. Drake hints Cole Palmer is inspiration behind his new album name as he shares brilliant video of Chelsea star Current club captain Reece James slammed the 'cowardly thieves' who broke into his house in December 2021 while he was playing for the Blues in the Champions League. The burglars got away with a safe that contained James' medal from Chelsea's Champions League win of that year, as well as the Euro 2020 runners-up medal he earned with England. At least two other unnamed Chelsea players were understood to have suffered similar experiences around the same time
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Viktor Gyökeres labours as Arsenal fall short against Villarreal and Pépé
Arsenal 2 Villarreal 3 New season, same old Arsenal? On an evening when Viktor Gyökeres was meant to announce himself as the solution to all of Mikel Arteta's problems, instead it was a figure from Arsenal's past who stole the show. At £72m – £8m more than they may end up paying for the Sweden striker – Nicolas Pépé was an expensive Arsenal signing, a few months before Arteta replaced Unai Emery in 2019. Most of the fans who packed out the Emirates Stadium for this pre-season friendly will not have many fond memories of the Ivory Coast international's spell in north London, but he clearly had a point to prove here. Pépé's early goal and strikes from Karl Etta Eyong and the former Tottenham loanee Arnaut Danjuma sealed an impressive win for Villarreal, and left Arteta with plenty of questions to resolve before Arsenal's opening game of the season next weekend against Manchester United. Gyökeres, who is the headline act of a spending spree that could exceed £200m, looked short of match fitness as he toiled up front for 62 minutes. Only the introduction of the 15‑year‑old Max Dowman for his first senior appearance at the Emirates Stadium could lift the mood as he won a penalty that allowed Martin Ødegaard to make the scoreline more respectable. But there were more reasons to be fearful for Arsenal's fans as they aim to improve on finishing as Premier League runners-up for a third successive season. There had been a sense of anticipation in the late summer air as they queued patiently at the club shop before kick‑off, with several already sporting Gyökeres's new replica No 14 shirt. Having made his debut last week as a substitute against Spurs in their 1-0 defeat in Hong Kong, the Sweden striker is still playing catch‑up having stayed away from pre-season with Sporting as he attempted to force through his move. But he was included in a strong starting lineup, with Ethan Nwaneri deputising for Ødegaard alongside the new signing Christian Nørgaard and Mikel Merino in midfield. The match programme featured pictures of all six of Arsenal's summer arrivals on the cover, with Martín Zubimendi, Cristhian Mosquera, Noni Madueke and Kepa Arrizabalaga on the bench Arteta used his programme notes to express his belief they 'will add quality and depth to the squad, which is what we are going to need throughout the season'. Areteta added: 'We know what our targets are and what we want to achieve this season – there is a big belief in our ability to achieve that. We have been very, very close the last few seasons and the whole team is going to determine whether we achieve that or not.' It was Nwaneri, who has signed a new contract this summer, who caught the eye early on. A cross from Merino that was meant for the forehead of Gyökeres instead found Bukayo Saka at the back post and he could not direct the ball on target. But with only Gabriel Magalhães missing from his first-choice back four, Arteta will be concerned with how easily Villarreal established a 2-0 lead. Pépé, who joined Villarreal last year on a free transfer and is set to be joined by the former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey after he agreed an initial one-year deal, was unlucky when his shot came back off the post before he eventually forced the ball past David Raya when Arsenal failed to clear. The Spaniard was left fuming with his defence when Etta Eyong doubled the Spanish side's lead just after the half-hour, although Nørgaard immediately pulled one back from a corner. Like last season when they struggled from a lack of creativity, that seemed to be Arsenal's best chance of scoring as Gyökeres was forced to live off scraps before the break. Mosquera and Zubimendi were summoned for the second half and there was an immediate improvement. Gyökeres finally had a sight of goal when played in by Merino but his shot was well saved by Luiz Júnior. It needed Dowman, who has been hailed as a 'special talent' by Arteta despite his tender years, to save some face after Danjuma had raced clear to make it 3-1, although Madueke missed the decisive penalty in a post‑match shootout. 'Max is moving so fast – even last year when he was training with us, he was doing these kind of things and now he is doing them in the games,' said Arteta. 'The efficiency he shows in every attacking action is incredible and he deserves more chances.' On Gyökeres, Arteta added: 'Every day in training he is getting a really good feeling and connection with all the other players who are going to help him. He hasn't trained for a team for two months and, on Saturday, he will take another step and be in a very good position.' Guardian
The Irish Sun
3 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Arsenal 2 Villarreal 3: Viktor Gyokeres upstaged by £72million forgotten Gunners flop on Emirates Stadium bow
The way Gyokeres moved and his hair saw him compared to an Arsenal flop VIKTOR GYOKERES is wearing the No14 shirt made famous by Thierry Henry and the Swede is also looking to become an Arsenal legend. Unfortunately for the club's big summer signing, he had just 14 touches on his Emirates debut before being replaced in the 62nd minute, so this will not be a night he looks back with fondness. Advertisement 5 Viktor Gyokeres was upstaged on his Emirates debut as Arsenal crashed to defeat Credit: AFP 5 Forgotten £72m flop Nicolas Pepe opened the scoring against his old club Credit: Getty 5 But things only got worse as Arnaut Danjuma went on to score the La Liga sides third Credit: Reuters 5 Martin Odegaard bagged a late consolation from the penalty spot but it wasn't enough to win the game in normal time Credit: AFP Play Dream Team now! Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play Over £100,000 in total prize money Play in Mini Leagues against your mates Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw Play via Dream Team's app or website today! Not that it really matters, obviously. If Viktor Gyokeres fires the goals to end Arsenal's role as permanent Premier League bridesmaids to clinch the title, and there is no reason why he cannot, the Swede will be forgiven if he takes time to adjust in north London. On the night all eyes were on the new arrival from Sporting Lisbon, absolutely no-one had taken any notice of Villarreal's Nicolas Pepe. So while we all expected an expensive signing by Arsenal to score, you would not have had any money on it being £72m Arsenal flop Pepe. Advertisement Villarreal's Ivory Coast international scored the first goal and Karl Etta Eyong made it 2-0 before new arrival Christian Norgaard scored with a header. Yet while we have spent the last few weeks talking about the need of a top striker, Mikel Arteta's team will have to defend better than this, and sub Arnaut Danjuma made it 3-1 before Martin Odegaard pulled one back from the penalty spot. Villarreal then won a penalty shoot-out 4-3 with another new arrival, Noni Madueke, missing the decisive spot-kick. Gyokeres, who cost £8.5million less than Pepe, made his club debut as a 77th minute substitute against Spurs in Hong Kong but was given a heroes' welcome at a packed Emirates. Advertisement BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK If Arsenal are to get the best out of their new all-singing, all-dancing goal machine, they will have to give him more ammunition. Equally, Gyokeres did not have a proper pre-season as he barely trained in Lisbon. Arsenal's 2025-26 third kit 'leaked' and fans absolutely love it He will soon be in better shape and has another run-out on Saturday against Athletic Bilbao. Advertisement Gyokeres tried to score his first goal in spectacular style but failed to connect with an attempted bicycle kick from Bukayo Saka's cross and he had few other chances. In terms of the way he moves and the fact has blonde hair, it was a bit like having Nicklas Bendtner back at the Emirates although it is safe to say Gyokeres will do a bit better than the cocky Dane. Arteta also gave second half Emirates debuts to Christhian Mosquera, Martin Zubimendi, keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and Madueke. Yet the comedy moment of the night was Pepe opening the scoring from close range and then refusing to celebrate. Advertisement Pepe arrived from Lille for that massive amount in 2019 and scored just 27 goals in 112 appearances before joining Trabzonspor on a free transfer in 2023. Many Arsenal fans probably did not realise that Pepe was even playing in this fixture although there was a mixture of jeers and applause when his name was read out after scoring. Etta Eyong scored at the far post for 2-0 before former Brentford captain Norgaard pulled one back with a far post header before the break. The biggest roar of the night came just after the hour when 15-year-old Max Dowman was unleashed. Advertisement Villarreal caught Arsenal on the break with former Bournemouth forward Danjuma making it 3-1 before Dowman won a penalty and Odegaard, who replaced Gyokeres, got Arsenal's second. There was still a shoot-out although Madueke saw his shot saved with one fan shouting: 'send him back to Chelsea.' Meanwhile, Arsenal - yet again - have fitness concerns. Both defender Riccardo Calafiori, who suffered an injury on the tour, along with Kai Havertz, were missing from the squad. Advertisement
