Arsenal 5-1 Bolton | EFL Cup | Third Round | Post Match

Seventeen-year-old Ethan Nwaneri scored twice on his full Arsenal debut as the Gunners cruised into the fourth round of the EFL Cup with a 5-1 thrashing of Bolton Wanderers at the Emirates.

Nwaneri shone on a night where Raheem Sterling also opened his Arsenal account, while Declan Rice and Kai Havertz started and ended the scoring respectively for the rampant hosts, whose only blot on the notebook was Aaron Collins's counter-attacking consolation.

With several fresh fitness concerns arising from the weekend's gripping draw with Manchester City, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had no option but to throw in four teenage starlets for their full debuts, including 16-year-old goalkeeper Jack Porter and unheralded 18-year-old right-back Joshua Nichols.

Porter entered the Arsenal history books at the youngest player to start a competitive game for the Gunners, and while Bolton did have their moments in the final third in the first half - having a decent early penalty shout waved away - the 2008-born shot-stopper was largely a spectator.

As expected, Arsenal's second-string side dominated proceedings and deservedly went ahead when Rice capitalised on a Scott Arfield error, before three full debutants in Myles Lewis-Skelly, Sterling and Nwaneri combined expertly for the latter's first senior goal.

Nwaneri was at the double early in the second half as Ian Evatt's men played their way into trouble yet again, as the Trotters opted for a high-risk, high-reward approach at the Emirates, which unsurprisingly did not pay dividends when Arsenal were on the ball.

Individual errors did not help Evatt's side either - Nwaneri completed his brace thanks to a schoolboy passing mistake - although the loudest cheer of the night came from the away end when Collins pulled one back after a rapid counter-attack.

However, the 27-year-old's tap-in would not trigger a sensational turnaround, as Sterling restored Arsenal's three-goal lead with his first for the club before Havertz capped off a near-perfect evening for a hotchpotch Gunners team, where the kids were more than all right.