Brentford hero reveals what impressed him about Nwaneri after meeting with Arsenal whizkid

Brentford hero Sam Sodje was in attendance at the Gtech Community Stadium in Middlesex on Sunday, at the invitation of his former employer, to watch the Premier League match between Arsenal and the Bees.

And he watched history unfold from the stands as Ethan Nwaneri came on in the 90th minute as a replacement for Fábio Vieira - the midfielder's first appearance for Arsenal's first team.

Nwaneri became the youngest-ever player to feature in the English Premier League, aged 15 years and 181 days, beating the record previously held by Harvey Elliot, who was 16 years and 30 days old when he played for Fulham in May 2019.

Sodje met with the Anglo-Nigerian prodigy shortly after the game and had nice things to say about the teenager.
 

The retired Nigeria international revealed that Arsenal fans taunted the Brentford supporters when Nwaneri entered the pitch in the closing minutes.

"I met Nwaneri after the game, I spoke to him. He's a very humble kid, very young and I think the whole Arsenal fans wanted him to come on," Sodje said to allnigeriasoccer.com.

"When he came on the Arsenal fans started singing, 'He's only 15 years old, that's how rubbish you are'.

"He made a good cameo and I was so impressed the way he took the whole occasion, you won't believe he's 15 - his warming up, his attitude.

"Definitely he's one for the future if he keeps his head grounded . I spoke to Edu as well, the Technical Director, and they have high hopes for the kid."

Sodje was on the books of Brentford for two years, scoring thirteen goals in 95 appearances across all competitions.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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