Ethan Nwaneri was called out by German media as his difficult start to life at Borussia Dortmund continued. The Arsenal forward has struggled to make an impact in Germany since arriving on loan in August.

Nwaneri will have been hoping to make his mark as Dortmund, who were beaten by Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League in midweek, travelled to struggling Union Berlin on Saturday. However, he feared he'd made the wrong kind of impact as he was shown a red card just 17 seconds into the match after rattling into Tom Rothe.

Thankfully, for Nwaneri, who put his hands on his head in disbelief, referee Daniel Schlager had accidentally pulled the wrong card out of his pocket. The official quickly remedied his mistake, showing a yellow and the 19-year-old was able to continue.

Still, getting booked so early signalled how eager he and Dortmund were. In keeping with many of his outings so far, Nwaneri was substituted just past the hour mark.

Dortmund played with more urgency after Nwaneri went off, but couldn't break down a stubborn Union defence. Dortmund sporting director Nils-Ole Book accused the team of showing a lack of courage, saying: "We're disappointed.

"We wanted to do a lot more. To get in behind, you need to play with more courage all over the field. We started doing that far too late. When we're bolder, we play really good football and are able to put pressure on our opponents."

Here's a look at how German news outlets responded to his latest performance...

Bild

Bild described the team's start as "nothing short of explosive" and Nwaneri's tackle as "brutal." The outlet's match report read: "Borussia Dortmund started the match with aggression that was nothing short of explosive. Just 17 seconds in, Ethan Nwaneri brutally tackled Tom Rothe, earning a straight yellow card.

"Ironically, even referee Daniel Schlager seemed unsure of his decision. He pulled the wrong card from his pocket, suddenly showing Nwaneri a red. Schlager quickly corrected his mistake, however, and brandished a yellow card, allowing Nwaneri to continue. Dortmund's aggressive play continued, with Waldemar Anton (7th minute) and Serhou Guirassy (14th minute) also receiving early cautions.

"Unfortunately, this hunger didn't translate into the visitors' attacking efforts, partly because Union defended strongly. Dortmund suffered, while Union celebrated another important point after their 1-0 victory against Elversberg last weekend."

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Ruhr Nachrichten

Local title Ruhr Nachrichten wasn't impressed with Nwaneri's latest performance, giving him a 5/10 rating and saying he has yet to prove his worth.

It wrote: "Shown a red card after 30 seconds—though this was because referee Daniel Schlager had mixed up his cards; a yellow would have been the correct call (1st minute). Squandered Dortmund’s best scoring opportunity quite carelessly. Brought in at the end of August as an immediate replacement for the injured Giannis Konstantelias, he has yet to prove his worth. Rightfully brought off."

Kicker

In its match report, Kicker wrote: "Just seconds in, a bizarre scene unfolded: After a robust challenge by Nwaneri on Rothe, referee Daniel Schlager brandished a red card – but immediately rescinded it, showing a yellow instead. The referee had mixed up the cards. The game continued with Dortmund playing with determination, having previously criticised themselves for lacking passion and determination after their defeat in Norway. Anton and Guirassy also received yellow cards within the first quarter of an hour.

"Because Union Berlin also became more aggressive as the game progressed and defended consistently, clear scoring opportunities were scarce. It wasn't until first-half stoppage time that both sides created their first dangerous chances: Nwaneri found himself in an excellent position in the penalty area but didn't connect cleanly with the ball (45+2). At the other end, Kobel just managed to tip a free kick from Imeri, taken from a tight angle near the touchline, over the crossbar (45+3). Thus, after an intense but low-scoring first half, the game ended in a goalless draw."

The draw saw Dortmund overtaken by Bayern Munich, who hammered RP Leipzig 6-1, on goal difference. Dortmund return to Champions League action on Tuesday away to Sabah before hosting Eintracht Frankfurt in the league on Saturday.