Arsenal star just showed he can save KSE millions tomorrow

Arsenal were 1-0 up when Kai Havertz was gifted an easy chance yards out with the goal at his mercy. For those into stats, it was a chance worth 0.77 xG. In simpler terms, he should have scored. He did not.

Here we go again, thought Arsenal fans. It was a moment that showed why the Gunners should have already brought in a new centre forward during the winter window.

That said, by the end of the game, any talk surrounding a new striker had been forgotten about. Mikel Arteta’s men had won 5-1.

It was a ridiculous scoreline for those of an Arsenal persuasion. City have been well below par this term but this was still the Premier League champions at the Emirates on Sunday. They were in the game for three-quarters of the match but were blown away in the final 30 minutes.

Erling Haaland had equalised but just 30-odd seconds later they were behind again through Thomas Partey’s deflected strike.

Myles Lewis-Skelly made it three, Havertz eventually got his goal and then Ethan Nwaneri made it two in time with a wonderful late strike.

Arsenal’s best performers against Man City

Havertz will no doubt receive stick for his dire miss in the first half but he contributed in a huge way come full time.

It was the German who registered the assist for Martin Odegaard’s opener and Arsenal’s fourth, scored by the £65m man, was brilliantly taken, cutting inside and then firing past Stefan Ortega.

Declan Rice – who registered two assists – was also immense and took home Sky Sports’ Player of the Match award.

Teenager Lewis-Skelly also deserved the award, truth be told, for an immense performance.

Against Manchester City at the Etihad last year, Haaland could be heard asking who on earth the 18-year-old was. Well, he certainly knows now.

The young left-back has made an incredible impact since coming into the team and saved the best performance of his embryonic career for Sunday afternoon.

He bullied City and his goal was simply superb. Cutting inside onto his weaker right foot, he danced into the area and unleashed a shot that found the far corner via the glove of Ortega.

His celebration summed up the personality, the arrogance, the confidence of this young man. He sat on the Emirates turf and performed Haaland’s celebration. Lewis-Skelly, who? The Norwegian won’t forget him in a hurry now.

While the Hale End sensation shone, another came off the bench and demonstrated why he’s set to save Arsenal’s owners, KSE, a fair whack in the transfer window.

Ethan Nwaneri’s cameo against Man City in numbers

If you thought Lewis-Skelly was special then check out Nwaneri. Aged 17, the young attacker is already establishing himself as one of the most frightening teenagers in European football and is proving why he could be the perfect understudy to the injured Bukayo Saka.

The Englishman suffered a cruel hamstring injury at the back end of 2024 and it looked as though the Gunners would need to spend in the January window. Indeed, they still do need to find a striker from somewhere.

However, the idea of signing a new winger may be parked after Nwaneri’s staggering rise to stardom in the last few months.

His goal against Girona, cutting inside onto his left foot in the Champions League in midweek, was truly special and he did something similar off the bench against City.

Rice found the teen on the right and once more, he cut inside and unleashed a delicious curling effort into the far corner.

He was only given the final ten minutes but showcased in that time, and against Girona a few days ago, why he’s going to become a star very very quickly.

Saka is a huge miss to this Arsenal team but in Nwaneri, they have found a talent capable of demonstrating similar traits.

He’s comfortable at receiving the ball to feet, he can spin past a player, he’s creative and he can score goals. Arteta may not need a new winger after all…