Eddie Nketiah says it was ‘childhood dream’ to score twice in home debut as he thanks Thierry Henry for support
EDDIE NKETIAH described his stunning goalscoring debut for Arsenal as a "childhood dream" and was praised by Gunners legend Thierry Henry.
The 18-year-old came off the bench to replace Francis Coquelin in the 85th-minute against Norwich in the Carabao Cup, and scored both goals as Arsenal won 2-1.
His first came just 15 seconds after he trod out onto Emirates pitch.
Henry took to Twitter to express his delight for the teenager, writing how he was "so happy for him and not surprised at all".
Nketiah responded thanking the Frenchman, saying that his praise "means a lot".
Speaking after the game Nketiah described his stunning arrival onto the scene as a "childhood dream".
He said: "I'm delighted first of all to make my home debut and to get on a score two goals and win the match for Arsenal FC is a great feeling for me and my family.
"I'm just so happy that I could hear the fans screaming my name and it's been a childhood dream for me and I just want to keep pushing on and hopefully you'll see more goals and many better performances from me."
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Josh Murphy had given the Canaries a surprise lead at the Emirates Stadium but Daniel Farke's side missed a number of chances to seal a famous win before Arsenal hit back.
Wenger, who made 11 changes from the side that won 5-2 at Everton on Sunday, turned to Nketiah with five minutes to go and the former Chelsea youngster responded with an equaliser just 15 seconds after entering the fray.
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That sent the tie to extra-time where Nketiah, who had played one minute of senior football before Tuesday's game, headed home Mohamed Elneny's corner to send Arsenal through to the last eight.
Wenger said: "I brought him on because we needed to score goals and he can score goals. In the end we had eight strikers on the pitch.
"I knew he had quality, but when the team need you and you deliver, that's another quality you don't know about until you go on to the pitch.
"Hopefully he'll have a long career at Arsenal. We're proud to give chances to young players, it's part of our DNA, and we want to continue to do that.
"I don't know why exactly Chelsea let him go or if he decided to leave, but young players more and more nowadays travel from one club to another. We're happy to have him.
"I can't remember a young player having such an impact in a game like that. Until he came on we lacked ideas and creativity."
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