On Saturday versus Fulham, Arteta opted to bench Eddie Nketiah for Leandro Trossard, a move the Spaniard must have regretted. That was evident when, at halftime, he opted to correct his mistake, subbing off Trossard for the 24-year-old.
Nketiah came in and hit the ground running; he was bad news for Fulham defenders. His pressure on the Marco Silva-led side helped Arsenal get back into the game. Arsenal managed to equalise the Andreas Pereira goal that had given the Cottagers the lead. Minutes after Saka’s equaliser, Nketiah gave the Gunners the lead and must have thought he had won the match for Arsenal, only for Palhinha to score a late equaliser to see the game ended 2-2.
If there’s one player almost guaranteed to start Arsenal’s next match, it is Nketiah. The Arsenal No. 14, as per Darren Bent, can guarantee Arteta plenty of goals that Gabriel Jesus can’t.
About Nketiah not starting but ought to be, Bent told Soccer Saturday: “I’m not quite sure, maybe because Fulham would defend deep, so maybe there wasn’t enough space in behind to play Eddie [Nketiah], but for me, I’d play Eddie every day of the week.
“I think even if you played him, Gabriel Jesus, whoever, I think if they all get ten games, I back Eddie to score more than all of them.
“He’s a natural goalscorer; even his goal today, first half, the ball’s going across the box; no one’s in there. Kai Havertz is on his heels; [Leandro] Trossard’s outside the box.
“The first time they swing one across in the second half, who’s there? He’s there. Slides in taps it in the empty net.”
Could Arsenal win the league with Eddie Nketiah leading the attack?
Daniel O
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