Arsene Wenger compares Ethan Nwaneri to Cesc Fabregas | OneFootball

Arsene Wenger believes Ethan Nwaneri has a similar mental strength to a young Cesc Fabregas, with the two players breaking into the Arsenal first-team at a young age.

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Following his starring performance in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Leicester City at the weekend, Ethan Nwaneri has drawn plenty of praise from the wider footballing world.

Among his supporters is former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who spoke to beIN SPORTS about the similarities between Nwaneri and a young Cesc Fabregas.

“Nwaneri is more a creator of a final ball through his dribbling and the quality of his passing,” Wenger began. “Fabregas was very strong mentally, but this boy looks [strong] as well.

“When I look at him and his maturity, it’s difficult to think he is 17 years old. The sign of a special talent is that they’re ready early.”

Cesc Fabregas on his Arsenal debut

Nwaneri would obviously love to have a similar impact at Arsenal to that of Fabregas, given the Spaniard’s fantastic early career with the Gunners.

By the time he left Arsenal at the age of 24, Fabregas had already been club captain for almost three seasons. He was the driving force of the team’s midfield, and he was even top scorer in 2009/10.

Though it’s worth pointing out that in pure goals and assists terms, Nwaneri has already surpassed Fabregas’ first full season. Fabregas had seven goals or assists in 3,097 minutes in 2004/05, Nwaneri has eight in 790.

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

It’s a strong start, but Fabregas kept his form up for the next six seasons before leaving for Barcelona. That kind of consistency and continued development is Nwaneri’s challenge now.