Leicester City were on the receiving end of some Ethan Nwaneri brilliance on Saturday, who helped condemn Ruud van Nistelrooy to his latest defeat.
Leicester produced a battling display at home against Arsenal at the weekend, although it ended with a familiar outcome, with the Foxes losing their 10th league game under Van Nistelrooy.
Mikel Merino’s brace from the bench sunk the Premier League’s strugglers in the dying embers but it was a performance that belonged to 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri.
Nwaneri ran Victor Kristiansen ragged for the full game and produced a moment of quality when it mattered, assisting Merino with a delightful cross.
The Arsenal gem has established himself as a regular starter since Bukayo Saka suffered an injury, and interestingly, Leicester youngster Jake Evans has now matched one of the winger’s impressive records.
Jake Evans matches impressive Ethan Nwaneri feat in Premier League 2
While Nwaneri has been the leading light to emerge from the Gunners academy in the past year, Leicester have some incredible youngsters of their own.
15-year-old Jeremy Monga was named on the bench against Manchester United in the FA Cup alongside striker Evans, who has been tipped to replace Jamie Vardy.
It’s clear to see why the 16-year-old has been compared to Vardy, as he’s been scoring goals for fun in the under-21s, despite qualifying for the under-18s.
Evans scored a hat-trick against Newcastle under-21s on Friday in a 6-3 victory, and it propelled the young striker to the top of the scoring charts alongside Crystal Palace forward Jemiah Umolu and Chelsea’s Donnell McNeilly with nine apiece.
| Player | Appearances | Goals |
| Donnell McNeilly – Centre-Forward | 14 | 9 |
| Jake Evans – Right Winger | 11 | 9 |
| Jemiah Umolu – Centre-Forward | 10 | 9 |
| Callum Osmand – Centre-Forward | 12 | 8 |
| Aaron Loupalo-Bi – Centre-Forward | 13 | 8 |
Remarkably, as pointed out by Leicestershire Live, Evans has joined Nwaneri in becoming the only other 16-year-old in Premier League 2 history to score at least nine goals in a season, with the Arsenal wonderkid netting 11 last term.
Evans deserves a first-team chance
Leicester have struggled to score goals all season, seeing them submerged as one of the league’s lowest scorers.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 17 |  WolvesWolves | 25 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 35 | 54 | -19 | 19 |
| 18 |  IpswichIpswich | 25 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 23 | 50 | -27 | 17 |
| 19 |  LeicesterLeicester | 25 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 25 | 55 | -30 | 17 |
| 20 |  SouthamptonSouthampton | 25 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 19 | 57 | -38 | 9 |
Alarmingly, the Foxes have failed to score in their previous five home league games, underlining a huge problem for Van Nistelrooy.
Although he’s still incredibly raw and needs time to develop, Evans has shown a ruthless streak – albeit in the under-21s – that could be of use to the first team.
Van Nistelrooy confirmed that Evans has been training with the senior players and was in contention to make the bench against Arsenal on Saturday.
Perhaps watching how Nwaneri has become one of Arsenal’s most influential players, despite being 17, will encourage the Leicester boss to offer his very own academy star similar opportunities.