Arsenal news: Eddie Nketiah's stunning performance against Norwich hints at bright future

IT began as a small chant, and then it became a roar as “Eddie, Eddie, Eddie” boomed out around the Emirates.

Arsenal youngster Eddie Nketiah made a statement against Norwich GETTY

Arsenal youngster Eddie Nketiah made a statement against Norwich

Twenty-four hours later, the teenager turned Carabo Cup superstar was probably still trying to take it all in yesterday.

“I’m really happy the fans welcomed me into the team like that,” said Eddie Nketiah. “And to hear your name at such a young age is a dream come true.”

Nketiah is just 18 and he is the reason Arsenal are in this afternoon’s draw, with his two goals beating Championship Norwich 2-1 after extra time on Tuesday.

A cracking cup tie turned on the instant arrival of Eddie, Eddie, Eddie.

Brought on in the 85th minute by manager Arsense Wenger – who has never won this Football League Cup – Nketiah was a hero a mere 15 seconds later when he equalised from close range before powering in an extra time header to win the tie.

And to think, in 2015 he was released by Chelsea for being too small.

I’m really happy the fans welcomed me into the team like that

Arsenal youngster Eddie Nketiah

He stands at 5ft 8ins but will feel like he is towering over London today after his amazing intervention to create history: Nketiah is the first Arsenal player to score having been born after Wenger had taken over in 1996.

It is likely he will be brought back down to earth by turning out for the Under 23s against Chelsea’s second string on Saturday in front of a few hundred spectators. 

But in this modern day and age, social media will tell how much his stock has risen so quickly.

Before kick off on Tuesday, Nketiah had close to 17,000 Twitter followers, a figure which has now doubled and is likely to keep on rising.

Speaking in the aftermath of his match-winning glory, he said: “I’m very thankful to the boss for giving me that opportunity to come on and show what I can do.

“I came on with full focus to help the team win. I believe in myself and I believe that I can always get goals, so I just tried to get in goalscoring opportunities. 

Eddie Nketiah scores first ever goal for Arsenal

“Thankfully they went in and hopefully they are the first of many. 

“I watched the likes of Thierry Henry a lot and I used to work him with quite a bit on and off the pitch. To emulate what he did would be a dream come true.”

Henry, Arsenal’s record scorer with 228 goals, was quick to compliment the youngster by tweeting: ”What a night for @EddieNketiah9. So happy for him and not surprised at all!”

If this was the birth of a superstar, it was not the first glimpse of Nketiah, who came off the substitutes’ bench but barely got a touch in last month’s debut against BATE Borisov.

Then he was introduced late on by Wenger to wind down the clock and see out the Europa League win. Against Norwich he had a different mission... and succeeded spectacularly, though he is no stranger to finding the back of the net.

After signing scholarship forms following a successful trial, the Londoner's 48 goals in the past two seasons at youth level underline his growing potential.

A potential that came to the fore just before 9.30pm on a Tuesday night in North London in October when only one name mattered. Eddie Nketiah had arrived in the big time.

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