Ethan Nwaneri is making the EFL Cup his personal stage this season.

After scoring twice in the last round against Bolton, the England youth international was on target again with a thing of beauty at Preston as Arsenal eased into the quarter-finals.

Preston goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, like the rest of Deepdale, could only look on in admiration as the attacking midfielder bent a beautiful left-footed shot into the far corner from outside the penalty area.

Nwaneri, who also hit the bar in the second half, looks a rare talent at just 17 years old.

“It is unbelievable but he does it in training almost every day,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

“He’s got this quality, this personality, he’s there to make things happen. He’s a big talent, he’s got the right attitude and he’s got the right players around him. We need to make sure that we put the bricks in in the right order but we have some player there.

“Away from football he’s still a bit quiet, as is usual for a 17-year-old. But he’s very respectful, his work ethic is tremendous and he loves what he does, you can tell that.

“He is showing every day what he is capable of. You see his teammates, they are giving him the ball all the time – that’s a great sign.”

Why wouldn’t they when he can do what he did with it in the 33rd minute?

With Martin Odegaard sidelined, Arteta may even be tempted to give Nwaneri, a Londoner who joined Arsenal as an eight-year-old, some more Premier League exposure.

He certainly gave him food for thought.

On what was a stress-free night for Arsenal, Gabriel Jesus scored his first goal since January to get the ball rolling in the 24th minute.

And Kai Havertz came off the bench to add a third in the second half against a Preston side who never stopped running but who were ultimately outclassed.

Arteta’s hope is that Jesus’ goal – a firm dispatch with his right foot from 10 yards out after Jakub Kiwior had met Gabriel Martinelli’s free-kick at the far post – will rebuild the confidence of the Brazilian.

“It has been a long time,” said Arteta. “That’s going to unlock the thing mentally and move it on. He is performing as he does always but he needs that feeling that he can put the ball in the back of the net.

Preston had knocked out Premier League opposition in Fulham in the previous round after an epic 16-15 penalty shootout which threatened to last longer than the game itself, but Arsenal – even with some of their top-line operators rested – were a cut above.

Arsenal, who have not won this competition since 1993, had plenty in hand and Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom, who made six changes himself, admitted his side were well beaten.

“We felt their level in terms of their intensity and quality without the ball. They put us under pressure,” he said.

“Their levels never drop so I wasn’t surprised at all by how they played tonight. But it was a good mental break for us from the Championship.”

The chasm in resources was underlined at half time when Arteta sent on £100 million worth of talent off the bench in Havertz and Thomas Partey and then rolled Bukayo Saka out for the last half hour.

He confirmed afterwards that none of his changes were injury-related, which is a relief ahead of Saturday’s league trip to Newcastle given their defensive issues of late.

William Saliba returned after suspension which made for a tough night for Sam Greenwood, operating alone up front for a Preston side unable to hold onto possession for any length of time against Arsenal’s swarming midfield.

There was a clean sheet on his Arsenal debut for 18-year-old goalkeeper Tommy Setford.

Setford, who arrived from Ajax in the summer, had a largely leisurely evening but made a smart save late on to thwart Dane Jeppe Okkels after a fine left-foot effort.

There was no doubt who the teenage star of the evening was though – Nwaneri.

He departed with 10 minutes left to be replaced by Ayden Heaven and the travelling supporters serenaded him as he left the field.

Arsenal’s victory gives the quarter-final stage of the competition an elitist look with an all-Premier League line-up for the first time in 15 seasons.