“That’s the first bad game I’ve seen him have” - Owen Hargreaves offers opinion on Arsenal star after draw with Manchester United

Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves has hailed Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri as 'an amazing player.' The 17-year-old was part of the Gunners side who were held to a 1-1 draw against the Red Devils on Sunday, March 9, in the Premier League.

Nwaneri started the game in attack amid Bukayo Saka's prolonged absence. However, the youngster failed to have an impact and was ultimately replaced by Gabriel Martinelli in the 58th minute.

Unfortunately, the Brazilian had an off-day as well, with the north London side having to rely on Declan Rice for the equalizer. Arsenal have now dropped 15 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have played a game more.

Speaking on the Kelly and Wrighty Show, Hargreaves suggested that the Gunners are suffering due to the absence of a striker.

“I do think they were shocked by that goal because they were so dominant Arsenal. I’m with Wrighty, they played nicely up until the box, but if you think you can go to Old Trafford with, Nwaneri is an amazing player, but he’s only 17, that’s the first bad game I’ve seen him have, and Merino as a number nine," said Hargreaves.

He continued:

"In a way, I think they’ve overachieved being second without a striker. I think Mikel has done a brilliant job, but you need more than one striker, they don’t even have a striker.”

The north London side will next face PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League Round of 16 second leg on Wednesday, March 12, at the Emirates.

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Will Arsenal sign a new striker this summer?

Mikel Arteta

Arsenal could be tempted to invest in a new striker at the end of this season. Mikel Arteta deployed Mikel Merino as the No. 9 in the past few games with mixed success. The Spanish manager is without Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz, who are out for the season with injuries.

Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney advised the Gunners to target Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta.

“Mateta is a big, strong lad who scores a lot of goals. From watching Arsenal over the past few games in the Premier League, they have put a lot of balls into the box without having anyone to get on the end of them. I am sure he would help from that point of view,” said Rooney via Yahoo.

Mateta, who has scored 15 goals from 33 games across competitions this season, is also linked to Manchester United.