This is how Arsenal loanee Ethan Nwaneri has been at Borussia Dortmund for two months.
Ethan Nwaneri’s pattern of not finishing games for Borussia Dortmund continued on Friday night. The Arsenal loanee joined the Bundesliga side on deadline day and started four league games.
The 19-year-old football player has yet to complete 90 minutes at the club. He has been substituted in each of his five starts in all competitions, his last being substituted in Dortmund’s 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen on Friday.
However, Nwaeri started the new campaign unbeaten. Dortmund currently lead the league with 13 points, but Bayern Munich and Freiburg, who are both three points behind, have a game in hand.
Nwaneri’s only goal contribution in Germany came when he registered an assist on his debut against Hoffenheim and has since struggled to make an impact in front of goal. He came close to scoring his first goal on Friday but was twice denied by former Gunners goalkeeper Carl Hein.
The teenager was taken off the pitch after an hour, and the German media had their say on his speech.
BILD
Germany’s biggest newspaper, BILD, gave Nwaneri a five for his performance, alongside teammate Marcel Sabitzer, the lowest for Dortmund. If the referee hadn’t disallowed his second-half goal for a foul, he might have been inclined to improve his rating.
BILD wrote: “But then Nwaneri scored a stunning bicycle kick (62nd minute) to give Dortmund the lead. Dortmund celebrated – but only briefly. Reason: Referee Christian Dingert ruled. [Waldemar] A light push from Anton [Niclas] Fullkrug offensive foul. Therefore, VAR could not intervene. A bitter evening for Dortmund…”
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! All the latest Gunners news, analysis and more via our dedicated Facebook page
Spock
Spox felt the 19-year-old struggled initially, but his impact grew as the game wore on, despite his final product still lacking. They gave it a three out of six, the highest possible grade. They wrote: “Nwaneri was relatively inconspicuous at first but has since become Dortmund’s most dangerous player in front of goal.
“In his first really good attacking move, he put the ball beautifully into the path of Beier before his big chance (43rd minute). After that, several of his shots were either just a touch too inaccurate or blocked by the excellent Bremen keeper Hein. He was then replaced by Silva after just over an hour. Rating: 3.”
Purpose
Goal’s assessment also noted Nwaneri’s inability to influence the game at key moments, but praised his technical ability. They rated the winger six out of 10 and wrote: “The teenager showed good technical security on the wing but struggled to influence the game against Bremen’s block in the final third.
“He was replaced by Fabio Silva shortly after the hour mark.” Only Serhou Guirassy, Maximilian Beier and Gregor Kobel scored lower than the performance, while the Dortmund trio received a rating of 5/10.