Would you prefer Eddie Nketiah to replace Gabriel Jesus instead of Gabriel Martinelli? This is a question that was posed to some Arsenal fans and the answers might shock you.
The Gunners have lost Jesus for an extended period, which naturally should make Nketiah their main man in attack after he spent much of the season on the bench.
Arsenal could decide to sign another striker, but that is unlikely now, with the Gunners hopeful they can use what they have until this season finishes.
The Sun ran a poll and asked Arsenal fans if they want Nketiah as their new target man or prefer Martinelli to play that role, with Emile Smith Rowe replacing the Brazilian on the left.
They report that 56% of the respondents prefer to have Martinelli up top and Smith Rowe on the left.
Just Arsenal Opinion
The return of Smith Rowe to full fitness means Mikel Arteta is spoilt for choice now and he can be tactically flexible in his selection.
Nketiah and Martinelli are top attackers and we expect either of them to do well, but we might have to change our system a little to accommodate Smith Rowe if he is in top shape and proves in training that he deserves to play.
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I’m not convinced – it was a while ago, but i thought ESR looked more promising as a false 9 than martinelli did as a centre forward. That is based on one game for ESR and probably only a couple for martinelli, though. Can’t see us not going with Eddie – it’s up to him to perform well and keep his place after that, otherwise we’ll be forced to try something.
Would rather get in a loan deal For an experienced striker ,Martinelli as been our best player this season IMO so to move him around now would be silly .
Eddie for me isn’t good enough so if Jesus is out for 2-3 months then I would go with my first sentence
Mikel Arteta is, in your weird opinion, spoilt for choice.
WHAT PLANET IS JA OPINION ON, FOR GODS SAKE!!
We have a talented squad but with NO depth at all. JA opinion is talking nonsense!
In your opinion…..
How many Arsenal fans have top-level coaching badges?
The answer to that would be about the same number as are worth listening to on this question then.
The club pays a manager with top coaching qualifications for a reason: so that he can make these decisions.
But they have opinions and that is what the question was about, not their coaching abilities. Or maybe no articles should be written or answered because hardly any Arsenal fans have coaching badges, so shouldn’t answer because they are not qualified.
@Reggie
As always, common sense and logic win out every time…Just sayin
Doesn’t stop you from giving your opinion though does it IDWKI?
Lol
It’s just a discussion. It’s up to you who you listen to or engage with.
Eddie is the natural fit, he hasn’t really fail, why complicate things
The first question is, who is the better player? Well that is Martinelli, without doubt. The second question is who is the better striker? I dont think truthfully we know but most would go for Martinelli. Me, i would get a striker in to replace Jesus.
But they have opinions and that is what the question was about, not their coaching abilities. Or maybe no articles should be written or answered because hardly any Arsenal fans have coaching badges, so shouldn’t answer because they are not qualified.
Martinelli would be the best replacement CF, in IMHO.
You’re right, that was his original position when they bought him, but Lacazette and Aubameyang were still around at the time. He even had some runs in tht position and scored. He can play anywhere in front.
This poll could have been spun into a positive article about supporters keen to see ESR back in the starting line up.
But instead it’s spun as another negative article on Nketiah just when we need him to come into form.
Shame
Gabriel Martinelli has been tried at center forward in the past. It didn’t work, not even in the slightest bit. Now these Arsenal fans saying he should be played ahead of Eddie either have “short memory” or they’re just not intelligent. Explain why Mikel should play a winger ahead of his center forward in the center forward position.
Not just any center forward, one who’s on 100k.
Unless Eddie gets injured, he’s our number 9 until Gabriel Jesus returns.
@Trent Madagua It actually worked, Martinelli has experience in number 9 position, there was a time ESR played on the RW and Martinelli in CF and he was still pretty young then and he still got goals. He did get too many games because of Laca and Auba. I just believe in that guy. His energy and passion is inspiring.
Why not play front 3 Martinelly ( wing), Eddie ( centre) n Saka they can swab positions..
Ive said all along we need a tall physical type striker to add another element to the team. Against teams that sit behind the ball a target man would give us a different focal point of attack that might get us that goal we seem to struggle with. Vluhavic for me gives us two top quality strikers which i think every squad need and also having jesus be able to play wide gives us flexibility also.
I agree with you matt…
@matt Gakpo then
Why do you guys hate Eddie Nketia so much? How many of these other players you are putting ahead of him have proven to be better goal scorers when you consider the minutes the guy has had? This is a guy that has such amazing goal scoring records for the England youth system, captained them, won golden boots, and indeed has been great for Arsenal! Why have you let hate for Nketia becloud your memories? If Nketia had the recent goal drought Gabriel Jesus had, most of you would be baying for his blood! Give the brilliant guy a chance and you all be ashamed of your baseless dislike of him.
@Cypo nobody dislikes him, he’s just not at the required level, Gabriel Jesus is having a goal drought but presses like a beast, dribbles crazy and penetrates defences to create chances. Nketiah kinda lacks that youthfulness ,movement and energy. Nketiah just scores a few goals here and there but he’s not clutch. You need guarantees at this point in the competition.
Just incase you didn’t get my explanation, Nketiah is a huge gamble at the wrong time. He’s good but not as a first choice at the moment. When he attains that level, the world will know.
BECAUSE, Nketiah hasn’t proven himself to be able to offer a consistent goal scoring record, neither has he offered any indication he will be able to offer even half of what Jesus does off the ball. Jesus’ goal record wasn’t a concern because he was offering so much off the ball, so far we haven’t seen any indication of this sort of impact from Nketiah
Many of you just hate Eddie Nketia for no good reason. Your memories must be so short. Eddie Nketia is a very good Number 9 by every standard. He just need to be trusted and given the minutes he needs. He’s proven himself in the England youth system and has been great for Arsenal whenever he was given the chance. If Eddie Nketia experienced the goal drought of Gabriel Jesus, you’ll be calling for his head! I don’t even rate Gabriel Jesus higher than Eddie Nketia at all. Those of you undermining Eddie Nketia will soon cover your face in shame when he begins to bang in the goals over and above what Gabriel Jesus has produced so far.
Hating and not rating are two separate things. You are out of order.
Spot on mate!! Those were the words i was looking for,”Rating” . Nketiah is not rated yet because even tho he’s good, he has not been as convincing enough, he has not been red hot. People don’t bother too much if GJ doesn’t score because they know what he’s guaranteed to bring to the game regardless.
People are treating Eddie Nketia the same way they treated Olivier Geroud in derision when he was at Arsenal. Well, we all now know how good Olivier Geroud is. We never trusted Balogun but he’ll go on to be a great striker at another club. And for those clamoring for a goliath in a striker, I’ll ask them, how tall is Sergio Aguero and the likes? I think fans should mind the way they undermine our good players. Let MA make his decisions. He knows the players more than any of you bashing Eddie Nketia.
@Cypo Giroud is brilliant at times but, he’s not exactly dependable, look back at his time at chelsea and you’ll see. He’s only got way better with age. Maturity i guess.
Cypo
You make some good points.
Eddies stats, goals per minute, are the best at the club by some way. Better than Jesus, Martinelli and Smith Rowe.
I believe that Martinelli could take inspiration from how Jesus operates. With all his business causing havoc, Martinelli could try that shoe on for size. But if he instead tries to play as Auba would, just on the end of things and on the shoulder, then it’s a little bit deflating. I think this is why so many fans say that they want Martinelli there despite his lackluster efforts last time around. Arteta might give Martinelli Jesus-type instructions, he has the hunger, the engine, and the ability, does Martinelli