Ethan Nwaneri burst onto the Arsenal scene as he doubled to take the Gunners into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a routine 5-1 win over Bolton, with Raheem Sterling also scoring on his full debut.

On a night where Mikel Arteta gave four young academy players their first starts, Nwaneri was the star performer for the youthful home side, with the 17-year-old scoring either side of half-time to distance his team from their League One opponents.

After Declan Rice had put the Gunners ahead through a foul by Scott Arfield on the edge of the penalty area, Nwaneri tapped home a cross from Sterling just before half-time.

After the break, Rice collected the ball deep in the Bolton half, into Chris Forino’s pocket, before Nwaneri collected the ball and coolly fired it past goalkeeper Luke Southwood.

Bolton, seeing Arfield miss a good early chance to make one, did not test 16-year-old Arsenal goalkeeper Jack Porter – who came on for injured duo David Raya and Tommy Setford plus the cup-bound Neto – for 53 minutes, at which point they were 3-0 down.

That effort did however earn them a goal against when striker Aaron Collins broke free from the Gunners defence on a counter, rounded the teenage goalkeeper and tapped the ball into an empty net.

Porter almost gifted Collins another when his pass from behind fell straight at the Bolton attacker, but he was spared a clumsy finish. And Bolton were made to pay for that mistake when Bukayo Saka’s shot was saved by Sterling from a yard out to restore the three-goal lead.

Kai Havertz came off the bench to round off his scoring with a fifth goal for the Gunners, completing a fine home win.

WATCH: All the goals in Arsenal’s five-star parade!

Arteta analyses the performances of his young players

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on Jack Porter becoming the youngest goalkeeper in Arsenal’s history:

“We told him yesterday and I think he spoke to his family straight away. They weren’t prepared for it, it’s a big step, it’s a big event for them. I think they were nervous about it, but he reacted really well. He was really calm in training and today too. His teammates really helped him with that too. One experience, and what a way to break a record.

About Ethan Nwaneri…

“The second goal I was happy for him because he scored. I know how his teammates would react if he didn’t!”

“Overall he was really good – a really strong performance from him. He really feels part of us. You can see he’s playing with confidence and believes he knows what he has to do on the pitch.

“It’s another step. He’s further than anyone would expect. Since he joined the first team, he’s always further than we expected, than I expected. He deserves that, he’s part of us and he’ll get the minutes.”

About Raheem Sterling:

“He’s getting better and better. Physically you can see that he’s making progress. When the game opens up a bit, you know what he can do and what he can deliver. He was involved in a few goals, so a very positive evening for him.”

Bolton boss: Some ‘disappointing’ goals were self-inflicted

Bolton manager Ivan Evatt:

“There were parts I liked, parts I didn’t like. We’ve spoken to the players over the last few days about making Arsenal’s goals deserved, but two or three of them were self-inflicted, which is disappointing.

“We should have had a penalty, whether that would have made the difference I don’t know, but what’s good is good. Arsenal had two big moments in the first half and scored two.

“Arsenal are a team that are difficult to create and score against. I thought we had moments that I was happy with.

“We had one or two more, especially in the first half. But for the most part it was a good experience, we earned the right to be here. Financially it’s fantastic for the club and it’s time to focus on the league campaign.”