Ethan Nwaneri Continues Promising on Loan at Borussia Dortmund

Ethan Nwaneri is starting to find his feet in Germany. He has started all three of Borussia Dortmund’s last three games, playing 190 minutes in total. Admittedly, it has taken the teenager some time to find his place in the team this season, and his first two appearances for Dortmund came off the bench.

There was some concern from Arsenal fans when Nwaneri was substituted off the pitch in the 82nd minute against Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League, despite coming off the bench for the injured Konstantinos Karetsas in the 27th minute. However, since that game, the Englishman has started all of Dortmund’s subsequent matches.

In the most recent game against Werder Bremen, Nwaneri really showed himself as a player of tremendous talent for manager Niko Kovač. Despite not scoring or assisting in the game, Nwaneri left his mark on the match as he took three shots - two of which were on target - and completed 26 of his 29 passes, but the highlight came in the 43rd minute when Nwaneri produced a lovely bit of skill to play Maximilian Beier through on goal with a delightful flick over the top of the defence.

Nwaneri is yet to play over 65 minutes in a single game for Dortmund, but encouragement can be taken from these three consecutive starts for Kovač’s team. Once Nwaneri starts to build up his confidence and physical levels, Arsenal fans can surely expect to see him complete full matches for Dortmund.

The goals and assists haven’t been there so far but it seems inevitable they will come for the Englishman, he’s created three big chances in just 248 minutes of Bundesliga football. The underlying data is heavily in Nwaneri’s favour, his dribble completion percentage lands him in the top 18% for attacking midfielders and wingers in the Bundesliga. This is paired with the fact that Nwaneri is also anttempting over two shots per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga, the output looks ready to erupt from underneath the surface.

Also encouragingly for Arsenal fans, Nwaneri has solidified himself as a starter for Lee Carsley’s England under-21 side. Nwaneri started all three of England’s European Championship under-21 qualification matches in the recent international break. Playing for both club and country as a starter is exactly what Arsenal would have been dreaming of when they decided to loan out Nwaneri for the second season running.

So far, it has been a very promising loan move for the attacking midfielder, and he’s starting to establish himself as one of the first names on the team sheet for Borussia Dortmund and England’s under-21 side. It was this scenario that Arsenal would’ve been hoping for when they loaned him out to Marseille last January, ultimately that move was a disappointment but this current loan to Germany seems to be working well for all parties involved.