Arsene Wenger Talks Eddie Nketiah Impact After Arsenal Beat Norwich City

Arsene Wenger was full of praise for Eddie Nketiah after the 18-year-old's double saw Arsenal to victory against Norwich City in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, but the Frenchman was quick to manage expectations for the teenager. 

The Arsenal manager played down comparisons between Nketiah and Gunners legend Ian Wright in a bid to relieve pressure on the young forward after a breakthrough performance, per Rob Kelly on Arsenal.com:

"Let's not be too quick, one of the problems nowadays is that people are very quick [to make a judgement]. He has qualities, he has top qualities and he is one of the players who was with us in pre-season, and that's why I knew that he could give us something when he comes on."

Wenger did, however, wax lyrical about the England under-19 international's qualities, including his ability to "smell" team-mates' movements, per Kelly: 

"I know that he has character and is not afraid. He smells the combination movements, he can give and go and once a player has that in his game, they have always a chance. The guys who can understand that if they give the ball somewhere and they can get it back and know where to get it back, the quality of reception is a very important quality. I would say the quality of the reception, he has that."

Nketiah made an instant impact when he was thrown on by Wenger against the Canaries at the Emirates Stadium, netting after just 15 seconds on the pitch to level the game at 1-1 with five minutes of normal time remaining.

He then scored his second senior goal for Arsenal six minutes into extra time, heading home Mohamed Elneny's corner for what proved to be the winner that booked the Gunners a spot in the quarter-finals.

Arsenal fans praised Nketiah on social media following his match-winning display.

One Twitter user, @BulletHeader12, highlighted how the youngster's Wikipedia page had been updated to reflect his performance:

Meanwhile, Bleacher Report's James McNicholas taunted Chelsea fans, with Nketiah having started his youth career at Stamford Bridge before joining Arsenal in 2015:

Asked if Nketiah would now be given opportunities in the Premier League, Wenger again highlighted the need to manage his progress, per Kelly: "You don't rule anything out. As I told you, he has played today 40 minutes. So one of the big problems in modern society as well is to give them time to develop and not to be too quick and not making stars too quickly."

Nketiah was on Chelsea's books and Wenger could not explain why such a talented played was allowed to slip through the net.

Per Kelly, he said: "I don't know what happened at Chelsea, but with us he has scored goals at the youth level. We see that more and more nowadays that young people travel from one club to the other and I don't know the real reasons."

Arsenal are back in Premier League action at the weekend. They host Swansea City on Saturday and will be looking to earn a fourth win on the bounce in all competitions.