Joe Cole hails Arsenal star as the 'most exciting footballer in Europe'

Ex-England midfielder Joe Cole (Picture: Getty)

Joe Cole backed Arsenal star Ethan Nwaneri to be an England regular ‘for the next 10 years’ after he starred in the record-breaking Champions League victory over PSV.

The Gunners put their stuttering Premier League form to one side in Holland on Tuesday night, thrashing PSV 7-1 to effectively secure their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

It was an incredibly one-sided contest, with Mikel Arteta’s side leading 3-1 at the half-time interval thanks to first-half goals from Nwaneri, Jurrien Timber and Mikel Merino.

The visitors then scored twice in three minutes straight after the restart – Martin Odegaard continuing his revival and Leandro Trossard getting in on the act – as Arsenal took full control.

Odegaard scored his second of the evening with 20 minutes remaining before Riccardo Calafiori capped off an emphatic victory with Arsenal’s seventh.

Get personalised updates on your team every day Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.

In winning 7-1, Arsenal became the first team in Champions League history to score seven or more goals away from home in a knockout match.

Cole insisted the last-16 tie was dead and buried after Arsenal’s incredible win in Eindhoven and singled out teenage star Nwaneri for special praise.

Ethan Nwaneri starred in Arsenal’s Champions League win (Picture: Getty)

Nwaneri, who became the youngest ever Premier League player when he made his Arsenal debut back in 2022, is enjoying a breakout season at the Emirates Stadium.

The 17-year-old’s bright form has led to calls for Thomas Tuchel to include him in his first England squad – which will be named next week – and Cole believes Nwaneri will be a Three Lions player for the next decade.

Ex-England midfielder Cole also hailed Nwaneri as the ‘most exciting footballer in England and maybe Europe’.

Arsenal battered Champions League rivals PSV (Picture: Getty)

‘For me, he’s so good that he doesn’t need the U21s,’ Cole told TNT Sports. ‘In my opinion, he’s that good.

‘He needs to go straight in with Thomas Tuchel, get around the squad and get some minutes, because he’s an England player for the next 10-15 years.

‘Wonderful talent, great mentality, he’s at the right club at the right time. I’ll be stunned if Tuchel doesn’t have a good look at him and bring him in to his first squad.

‘I think is going to be an absolute genius. I think he’s the most exciting footballer in England and maybe Europe. What he’s doing is incredible.’

Mikel Arteta’s side have one foot in the quarter-finals (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal and England midfielder Declan Rice also heaped praise on Nwaneri after the PSV thrashing.

‘He’s top,’ Rice said. ‘He’s 17-years-old and he’s on the biggest stage.

‘We’ve taken them [youngsters] under our wing and they deserve to be playing. You should see them train they way they have no fear and want to perform.

More Trending

‘Even if [Bukayo] Saka was here Ethan would be still getting minutes because he’s that good and works so hard in training.’

On Arsenal’s Champions League win, Rice added: ‘We were fluid, enthusiasm, the drive and hunger in the knockout phase of the Champions League.

‘But we’ve been playing like this all season. We feel we’ve been playing well as a team sometimes we score five sometimes two sometimes we don’t score but tonight we did well. We had the opportunity to score more second half especially.’

Arsenal return to Premier League action on Sunday against Manchester United before playing host to PSV in the second leg of their one-sided last-16 tie.

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Arrow MORE: Why isn’t Jude Bellingham playing for Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid tonight?

Arrow MORE: Bayern Munich set vastly reduced asking price for Arsenal target Kingsley Coman

Click here to read article