Ethan Nwaneri excited by ‘brilliant’ Arsenal signings | OneFootball

Arsenal youngster Ethan Nwaneri says he is excited by the business the club have done so far this summer.

The 18-year-old spent the first half of the summer on international duty with England U21s in their triumphant Euros campaign and after a brief holiday, joined up with the Gunners for their pre-season tour in Asia, playing 45 minutes in the Gunners’ 1-0 win against AC Milan.

Bukayo Saka scored the only goal of the game, turning in Jakub Kiwior’s cross in the 52nd minute.

Amid interest from several clubs, including Borussia Dortmund, Nwaneri is set to commit his future to the club by signing a long-term deal.

Reflecting on the match against AC Milan in hot and humid conditions in Singapore, he told Arsenal.com: “I think it’s a good start from the team, we’re ready to keep pushing and training and working hard.

“It was hard, it was tough, but you need to do it in pre-season to get fit, so I think it was good and I enjoyed it.”

A number of Arsenal’s academy players were given the opportunity to impress, including 15-year-olds Marli Salmon and Max Dowman.

New signings Christian Norgaard, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Martin Zubimendi made their first appearances for the Gunners, meanwhile, and Nwaneri believes their arrival will significantly strengthen the squad.

“I think all the signings we’ve made have been brilliant and are sharpening the team and making us even stronger,” he said.

“We’ve got some more back at home coming, so we’re ready for them to all come and build together.”

Mikel Arteta spoke highly of Nwaneri’s performance, saying after the match: “Ethan certainly has been training really hard.

“He only had a couple of training sessions with us so for him to be able to play 45 minutes in that heat is a really positive things. The same with Marli, the same with Josh [Nichols], I’m really happy with all of them.”