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New York Times
08-08-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Ethan Nwaneri's new Arsenal contract is symbolic for the player, his club and their fans
Ethan Nwaneri was born less than two miles from the Emirates Stadium at Whittington Hospital in March 2007. Now 18, he has signed a five-year contract to continue living the dream of a local boy surrounded by all things Arsenal. Islington in north London is Nwaneri's home. He went to primary school in Archway, spent his spare time playing football at Whittington Park, and can still be spotted by eagle-eyed residents of the Holloway area. Just last month, the England Under-21 international was helping to support his community at a boxing club. A post shared by Islington Boxing Club (@islingtonboxingclub) The midfielder's first trip to the Emirates came courtesy of his uncle, who took him to an FA Youth Cup match as a four-year-old. Gunnersaurus, Arsenal's green dinosaur mascot, caught his eye and that was it. The first senior Arsenal game he watched was their 3-1 Champions League last-16 home defeat against Monaco in February 2015. Thankfully, that night did not put him off. Advertisement He would become the first player born after the Emirates was built to represent Arsenal when he made his debut aged 15 in September 2022. A supreme talent, there was always going to be outside interest when he entered the final 12 months of his first professional deal. That was signed in 2024 and set at three years, the legal maximum for all players under 18. A well-known prospect in his early teens, he had interest from Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United before signing that deal. But even when talks over this new deal became more delicate, Nwaneri wanted to stay and Arsenal wanted to keep him. He spent time at Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur as a child, when getting a taste for multiple clubs is normal, but Nwaneri's pre-academy journey with Arsenal started as a five-year-old. He would stay behind after his sessions at the academy base, Hale End, to watch Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and others hone their skills as 'the older boys'. He was joined by friend and team-mate Myles Lewis-Skelly. Together, they have evoked similar emotions from fans who watched Saka and Smith Rowe help establish Mikel Arteta's project. Producing these players can be symbolic for Arsenal. No matter their race, age or gender, supporters will identify with players who come through the ranks and excel. The fact Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri are, in Nwaneri's words, 'so similar but so opposite at the same time' almost makes their coexistence in the first team all the better. Lewis-Skelly is more extroverted but both have found ways to shine. For Nwaneri, that comes through best when he plays as if he has not been coached. His first Premier League minutes at the Emirates, against Leicester City in September, gave regular match-goers their first proper taste of what that is like. On the pitch for seconds, his first action was to receive the ball in midfield, drive past two players and shoot from outside the box. His shot was saved, but with the score 2-2 in the dying embers, he changed the energy. Advertisement A visceral noise re-entered the ground and, with the help of Nwaneri, they scored twice to win 4-2. That ability to change the mood of 60,000 people (and even more who watch on TV) in an instant is rare. Nwaneri's decisiveness plays a part in that, and cropped up at various points of last season. In his second Premier League start, away to Brighton & Hove Albion, he had Declan Rice in support as he went through on goal but didn't have a second thought. He was in control and finished the attack. By the time Rice switched the ball to him with Arsenal 4-1 up against Manchester City, Nwaneri knew what he was going to do. He had been calling for the ball for 14 seconds, so quickly pushed it out of his feet and whipped it into the far corner. Once again, the Emirates erupted as he had joined Lewis-Skelly on the scoresheet. After his first Champions League goal away to Girona, Arteta said: 'That (Nwaneri's decisiveness) is what we love about him. That he's willing to take the initiative to make things happen.' 🎶 He's one of our own 🎶 Every Ethan Nwaneri goal so far 🎯 — Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 6, 2025 That willingness and ability to 'make things happen' is what any team needs. Nwaneri scored nine goals and assisted two in his breakout season, rivalling scoring records set by Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney before their 18th birthdays despite not being a centre-forward. There has been a shortage of players like that of late. Players who can truly disrupt defences, get people off their seats and remind spectators why they fell in love with the game. And that does not always have to be with goals or assists — when Nwaneri beats a defender with his quick feet, it is special. There were matches when these aspects of his game made him Arsenal's biggest attacking threat in Arteta's eyes — all while being the youngest player in the squad — a theme that continued when he was away helping England Under-21s retain the European Championship this summer. Advertisement During the tournament, head coach Lee Carsley, who played alongside Arteta for Everton in a 1-0 win over Arsenal three days before Nwaneri's birth, said: 'I love watching him play. Players like that really get you excited when they get the ball because you feel something is going to happen.' Thankfully for Arsenal, that will continue to be the case in north London. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Hindustan Times
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
The improbable rise of chessboxing
It's 9pm on a sweaty May evening at London's Scala nightclub and Hamza Buhari must knock out his opponent in the next three minutes or lose his king. The 28-year-old pharmacist from London is taking on Lithuania's Tadas Ceponis at chessboxing, a mash-up of two sports, in which competitors win by checkmate on the board or knockout in the ring. The bell ends the third round and Mr Buhari is just a few moves from defeat, forcing him to go for broke with his fists. As Mr Ceponis takes a rain of blows, the referee stops the fight, awarding victory to Mr Buhari. 'He's a much better boxer, I felt that today,' Mr Ceponis tells the baying crowd of around 500 as he embraces his opponent. 'He's a much better chess player,' replies an equally sporting Mr Buhari. Regulars in the crowd say they find watching chessboxing (between men or women) much more fun than either sport alone. The first chessboxing bout took place in Berlin in 2003, organised by a Dutch performance artist, Iepe Rubingh. Five years later a breakaway British faction got going. Chessboxing's popularity has steadily risen despite this split, helped by a surge in online chess during the covid-19 pandemic and a hit TV show, 'The Queen's Gambit'. Britain has hosted the most bouts and is home to some 200 regular chessboxers, estimates Gavin Paterson, a promoter. Britain was also first to introduce a grading system, similar to the belts awarded in judo or karate. 'British chessboxing has been much more successful [than its contintenal counterpart] because it took lessons from boxing and wrestling in the way it presents the sport,' says Mr Paterson. On the Saturday morning before the Scala fight a dozen chessboxers gather at Islington Boxing Club, the British home of chessboxing, to exert both their minds and bodies. Four boards are set up beside a boxing ring. Training consists of rounds of chess alternating with intense exercise or sparring. The challenge comes from attempting a cerebral activity while fighting for breath. A pounding heart, let alone a few punches to the head, can leave you disoriented. The training session features tips like ensuring you take your turn in chess just as the next boxing round begins, so your opponent's clock is running when you return to the board, where some 80% of matches are decided. 'The boxing impacts the chess and vice versa,' Mr Paterson says. This seems to attract those who want to be seen as Renaissance Men, and to help nerdy types gain confidence. Samy Shoker, an Egyptian grandmaster ranked in the world's top 1,000 active chess players, beat Germany's André Glenzer at the Scala to take the WCBA European middleweight title. Preparing for his chessboxing debut improved his physical condition, says Mr Shoker, a lean 37-year-old who entered the ring wearing a pharaoh headdress. The fighters risking their big brains in the ring are not doing it for the money. None was on offer at the Scala, in contrast to the €500,000 ($565,000) purse at the Fide World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships, a chess contest due to take place weeks later a few miles away. As one of the volunteers at the Scala event puts it, chessboxing runs on 'pride and idiocy'. Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
