It's been a bit of a mixed start to life at Borussia Dortmund for Arsenal loanee Ethan Nwaneri. The German media have now issued a new verdict on the player's form after his latest outing.

Having made his Premier League debut at the age of just 15 years and 181 days, big things are expected of the English youngster. Now 19, he's currently on loan to his second European club, having spent the second half of 2025/26 with Marseille.

Nwaneri has moved to Dortmund for the current season and impressed on debut, forcing an own goal as he came off the bench in a comeback win over Hoffenheim. Since then, however, his form hasn't really picked up.

Nwaneri Shown Rescinded Red Card vs Union Berlin

In his latest outing, the Arsenal prospect started in the Bundesliga vs Union Berlin. Nwaneri nearly made a disastrous impact as he flew into a challenge with Tom Rothe after just 17 seconds. Having blown for a foul, referee Daniel Schlager reached for a card in his pocket.

Much to Nwaneri's disbelief, he was shown a red card. However, Schlager quickly gestured to signal that he had accidentally pulled the wrong card out. As such, the red was cancelled out, and the 19-year-old was instead given just a booking.

Nwaneri was able to continue and was eventually substituted just past the hour mark. The game ended 0-0, with Dortmund left level on points with Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga table.

German Media React to Nwaneri vs Werder Bremen

Just last week, the local press were talking about another refereeing incident with Nwaneri. On that occasion, he scored a wonderful bicycle kick goal vs Werder Bremen, which was then ruled out by VAR. This time out, his bizarre non-red card was a focus point.

Bild, for example, described Nwaneri's tackle as "brutal." Their 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."

More specifically on his performance, Local outlet Ruhr Nachrichten were not particularly impressed. They gave Nwaneri a 5/10 rating, adding: "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."

In their match report, Kicker also referenced the "bizarre scene" when Nwaneri was nearly sent off by mistake. Their coverage noted: "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."

Still only seven games into his loan spell – with in the league and two in the Champions League – it's too early to say Nwaneri is struggling in Germany, but it's fair to say he's not really hit the ground running. With an assist on debut his only goal contribution, the Arsenal star will hope to find some better form in the coming months.