Arsenal beat Leeds United yesterday evening by a 2-0 scoreline, and the manager moved to praise goalscorer Eddie Nketiah.
The 22 year-old was enjoying a rare outing in the senior side last night having missed the opening weeks of the campaign with injury, and impressed once again when given the chance.
The Gunners have predominantly relied on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as their central option in attack, while Alexandre Lacazette has earned the right to be considered as a first-team regular after also missing the start of the season after contracting the Coronavirus, limiting the chances of young Eddie thus far.
Arteta has praised his young striker however for showing consistency when called upon this season and for his attitude.
“He’s been scoring goals every time we use him,” Arteta told media after the final whistle(via Arsenal.com).
“His attitude has been top drawer. Again, he hasn’t had many minutes. He’s a very humble person but has a big hunger inside himself and I’m delighted for him.”
Back in September, I claimed that Nketiah was gearing up for a big season, and he hasn’t failed to impress in any of his outings when given the chance. In pre-season, he was putting in a string of performances before his injury, and now has two in two in the EFL Cup, and I really believe that he will take his chance in the Premier League when Arteta finally gives him his chance.
He has shown that he is well ahead of both Martinelli and Balogun at present in my eyes, and I believe Arteta could convince him to stay if he just gives him minutes, playing time that I believe he deserves.
Am I alone in believing that Nketiah deserves another chance to make his mark in the division?
Patrick
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by his display last night,particularly when compared to Pepe and Martinelli neither of whom were impressive.That said they all worked hard on and off the ball for the team.Off topic,it would not surprise me if Newcastle came in for Holding who was impressive last night.They are crying out for more quality in their back four and Holding would represent an upgrade in what they have.
Not a fan of Nketiah but thought he looked bright last night and deserved the goal. He for me is just short of the standard we require, i know he is young and I know he can develop but wether he can develop into an Arsenal striker, i have my doubts. Hes fast but not that fast, hes strong but not that strong, hes got a good first touch but not that good, he scores goals but at a level below the prem. Its a tough one but he just seems all this time to be at the level a bit lower.
The fact that we have had this same debate for the 3rd straight year should tell you the answer. No he is not good enough, having to make the case is reason enough to say no.
any chatter about Eddie being good enough on the heels of an adequate performance against a banged-up and underperforming squad typifies the problems that still permeate this club…if he’s so good why wasn’t he re-upped ages ago or why aren’t teams clamoring for his services, loan or otherwise…the fact remains the jury is still out on this player, which is fine for those who haven’t invested so much time, energy and money, but for us to still be sitting on the proverbial fence is an indictment on our club’s problematic history when it comes to all things asset management related…just imagine what the narrative would be today if Eddie didn’t get such a freakishly fortuitous spin on his miscued shot yesterday and his attempt became fodder for the blooper reel history books
MY OBSERVATIONS FROM THE LEEDS GAME.
High energy/Tempo and Running = Very Good
Coercion = Poor
Team Work = Poor
Link up play = Very Poor
Individualism/Too Much Holding Of The Ball = Very High (Which is bad for team work to thrive)
The high energy and tempo we brought to the game was good but we need to be able to do this with coercion and the players having a chemistry together. This chemistry in turn will make team work and our link up play become seamless and individualism will be reduced to the a minimum. Arteta should drill this training into the players as a constant. But great win all the same…COYG!
Cohesion***