Arsenal loanee Ethan Nwaneri is two months into his stint at Borussia Dortmund and here's how he's faring
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| Ethan Nwaneri lasted just over an hour against Werder Bremen(Image: AFP via Getty Images) |
A pattern of Ethan Nwaneri not finishing games for Borussia Dortmund continued on Friday night. The Arsenal loanee joined the Bundesliga side on deadline day and has started four league games.
The 19-year-old has yet to complete 90 minutes for the club. He's been brought off in each of his five starts across all competitions, with his latest substitution coming in Dortmund's 2-2 draw against Werder Bremen on Friday.
However, Nwaeri has enjoyed an unbeaten start to the new campaign. Dortmund currently sit top of the league with 13 point 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 registering an assist on his debut against Hoffenheim and he has since struggled to make an impact in front of goal. He got closer to scoring his first goal on Friday but was denied by ex-Gunners goalkeeper Karl Hein on two occasions.
The teenager was then brought off after an hour and German media have had their say on his performance.
BILD
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| Ethan Nwaneri has yet to complete 90 minutes for Borussia Dortmund(Image: Getty Images) |
Germany's biggest newspaper, BILD, gave Nwaneri a grade of five for his performance, the joint-lowest for Dortmund alongside team-mate Marcel Sabitzer. The outlet may have been inclined to raise his rating if the referee hadn't disallowed his second-half goal for a foul.
BILD wrote: "But then Nwaneri scored a stunning bicycle kick (62nd minute) to seemingly give Dortmund the lead. Dortmund celebrated – but only briefly. The reason: Referee Christian Dingert ruled [Waldemar] Anton's slight push on [Niclas] Fullkrug an offensive foul. Therefore, VAR couldn't intervene. A bitter evening for Dortmund..."
Spox
Spox felt the 19-year-old struggled initially but his influence grew as the game went on, despite his end product still lacking. They gave him a rating of three out of six, with one the highest possible grade. They wrote: "Nwaneri initially remained relatively inconspicuous, but then developed into Dortmund's most dangerous player in front of goal.
"With his first truly good attacking move, he beautifully chipped the ball into Beier's path before his big chance (43rd minute). After that, several of his shots were either just a touch too inaccurate or were thwarted by the excellent Bremen goalkeeper Hein. He was then replaced by Silva after just over an hour. Rating: 3."
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| The 19-year-old was subbed off in the 63rd minute(Image: AP Photo/Martin Meissner) |
Goal
Goal's assessment also noted Nwaneri's inability to impact the game at key moments, but praised his technical ability. They gave the winger a six out of 10 rating and wrote: "The teenager showed good technical security on the flank but found it difficult to impact the game in the final third against a deep-sitting Bremen block.
"He was replaced by Fabio Silva just past the hour mark." Only Serhou Guirassy, Maximilian Beier and Gregor Kobel received lower scores from the outlet, with Dortmund's trio all receiving 5/10 ratings.
- Fasika Zelealem
