Arsenal really need to invest in a new striker and quick!! by Shenel
As you may well know, I never like to criticise players, but I can’t sit back and not say anything this season.
Arsenal and the board have done some good business over recent years but equally they have also done, in my opinion some awful and not needed business in recent years.
There’s a lot I haven’t agreed with, but one main bit of business I didn’t agree with was when they gave Eddie Nketiah….
A. A contract extension… and
B. The number 14 jersey.
There is no doubt that he is a talented player and deserves to be where is he in regards to being a professional footballer, but I don’t think he is good enough to play for Arsenal’s first team, and he definitely is not good enough to wear the number 14 shirt.
Now I love nothing more than being proved wrong and I have said many a time that I would hold my hands up and apologise if I am proved wrong, but right now I can’t see that happening with Eddie. There is no denying he has helped us out in certain games especially when Gabriel Jesus was injured’ but the issue is that he is simply not consistent enough.
We as a big club need a striker that will be apparent at some point in every game, turn up and score and assist in every game or every other game at least. Like your Erling Haalands and recently your Romelu Lukakus. I know Haaland can be quiet in games he is human, but sometimes all he needs is that one chance and one moment and he can turn a game around. I don’t see that from Eddie.
Even Jesus is not consistent, let’s admit it, but you know you will possibly get something more out of him in a game than what we have seen from Eddie so far.
Also with regards to the number 14, my opinion on the number on the back of Eddie’s shirt is one where I believe it should have been retired when Thierry Henry left us, because let’s be honest those that have been given that number after him have not lived up to his level or potential. I know every player is different and I don’t like to compare, but it becomes hard not to compare when someone like Thierry Henry has come before them.
Each player should endeavour to play to that level or a better level of the player that came before them, but Nketiah at the moment isn’t and I can’t see him ever reach that level.
He is a good player don’t get me wrong, and scoring a hat trick against Sheffield United was good for him and his confidence of course, well I would have been worried if he didn’t score against them, but had it been a bigger team, no disrespect to Sheffield, Eddie would not have scored a hat trick unless the team was having a real nightmare.
I definitely don’t think he is the player we need up front but I commend him for his fight and never giving up attitude and being ready to play when he is called upon, because a lot of players would have given up and left, so I can’t fault his character but right now I don’t think he is good enough for Arsenal or for the number 14 shirt.
And before any of you fans attack me and my opinion this article is nowhere near a hatred outward attack on Eddie let’s get that straight.
I like him as a person and a player he seems down to earth and genuine and has worked hard to get to where he is but I don’t think he is good enough for our club.
This article is just one Arsenal fan expressing their thoughts on a player who plays for their beloved club, a club that I believe deserves better when it comes to talent and players, because we have worked so hard to get back to a good competitive level and it would be a shame to lose it because we haven’t got the quality to compete until the end.
But I am the first person who really hopes Eddie proves me wrong and does so soon!
What’s your thoughts on Eddie, his performances and his shirt number Gooners?
Shenel Osman
@sh3n3l_
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He is neither good enough nor consistent enough to be anywhere near our first team.He was completely anonymous last night but then lets face it so were alot of others.
For a second-choice striker (that’s effectively what he is behind Jesus), Nketiah is doing fine in my opinion.
At 24, and just got his first full international cap for England, the man has his future before him. He should be allowed to develop.
When he scored three against Sheffield United, I refused to be carried away by a one-game performance. I will also not write him off based on the game last night. None of the players covered themselves in glory last night anyway.
Eddie is trying his best in Arsenal shirt. But he can’t give what he doesn’t have. He has a dimunitive size like Ian Right and Aguero but lack their skill set and he doesn’t have the height of Ollie Watkins or Giroud. Eddie is a goal pocher but he isn’t consistent so he is not fit for a club of Arsenal size considering CF Arsenal have had in time past. I make little of the no 14 shirt he use it’s about who he is.
There’s nothing wrong with the number Nketiah chose. As an example, Smith-Rowe wasn’t influential or creative in his last EPL game, yet he wore the number 10 jersey
As for Nketiah’s performance in the Carabao Cup game, I guess he was thinking too much about the upcoming game at St James Park
Jesus would likely be unavailable for the important EPL game, so it would be Nketiah’s chance to show that he could be our main CF
Trust me nketiah will be missing in action in that game, we are talking about Newcastle
No good comparing Eddie with Haaland Shenal, he’s about half the size and on less than a fifth of his his pay.
I take your point about the shirt though, it can be a bit of an albatross for whoever wears it, and I doubt that he’ll ever reach that standard, but he’s a worthy forward who just really needs to work on his finishing, as he gets into goal scoring positions regularly enough.
If he doesn’t come good (15 plus goals) this season I would expect him to be gone by next summer.
I hope you are right @jax about the next league game. My worry though is that Eddie has proved that he lacks consistency. He had no reason why he could not put two behind the net at London Stadium.
Instead of being an emotional wreck, let’s figure this out in a bigger perspective. Thierry Henry is our club legend but his jersey 14 shouldn’t be retired because he only played for 8 seasons. He got a statue outside the stadium so that’s enough of gratitude. He left us hanging when Wenger sacrificed his remaining managerial career for the development of the club. Bigger stadium, better training ground and world renowned youth academy. Eddie Nketiah is a Hale End graduate, he is Gunners thru and true, he trains like a pro and a great example for the rest of youth team players. What he lacks in natural talent, he compensates with great attitude and undying perseverance. He could be the reason why Ethan Nwaneri extended his stay at Arsenal. Nketiah is only 24 and this season he is way better than last season. He scored 2 goals against Fulham when we were trailing and scored a hat-trick when Jesus was injured. He presses much better than most strikers in the league. And he never groans about his secondary role in the team. We cannot put big responsibility for players with least control. Managers in EPL will kill each other for such players.
Eddie is a better player per se than some who have moved on recently, but at 24 should be more productive by now. The truth is that neither he or Jesus have been
Another character assassination article, that is wrong, out of context and not needed.
Needed brother,he made good point man
That’s a big shoe to fill Eddie boy, Theo Walcott that once wore that number was touted as the next Thierry Henry.
Arsenal has never really find another player that prolific, maybe Santiago Gimenez from Feyenoord could be the answer.
Give him a break!
He has just scored a fine hattrick, and he was by no means alone in not performing well last night.
There wass hardly one single player, who performed satisfactorily aganist West Ham.
Also, I find this constant arguing that we should get a top striker a bit tedious.
Of course it would be great to have a Haaland.
But exactly how many like him is there? And are there any available?
Seems to me every other club except City are in need of a reliable top striker. But it is no easy job to find one better than what we have.
For once, i agree with you entirely.
He’s fine off the bench but not consistent or good enough to start for us, game in and game out
Problem is that Jesus gets injured too often.
Asenal should offload Jesus& Partie – injury prone and bring in Osimhen and Luise from Napoli and Aston Villa respectively. They will ease the pressure on Saka , Martineli and Rise. Alternatively we can sign Leroy Sane or the player Wenger sold cheaply at 5 million in Germany now at Baryan
To fixate on what’s going wrong where is being utterly ungrateful for how far we’ve come as a club since last we lifted the premier league trophy. Rome was not built in one day; to compare Arsenal with City in any form simply portrays how oblivious you have elected to pretend, like you’ve all along had your eyes closed to how City as you so selectively name dropped. If a toddler would construct a fair club assessment on this planet they would tell you that almost all of them wane in comparison to the current City project.
Mr. Osman, you are simply morally unfit to place such judgement on others laboured efforts just because you can just as easily move your fingers around a keyboard.
A chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link and Arsenal have two, 1. Eddie and, 2. The manager. Only 24 I hear, then 25 then 26 when will this striker become a goal scorer and not just an occasional scorer of goals? Any team is a reflection of the manager and is it any surprise we threw away our best chance to win the league last season because he doesn’t make the players accountable for their performances and the utterly ridiculous slow pattern of play he adopts with players playing in unnatural positions. Better replacements are required in both positions.
I think the same way too about the # 14 shirt it should be retired cause the player who had it was exceptional Eddie reminds me in some what ways of this player that use to play for us giveniho so slight don’t get me as the person said in the article I’m not attacking the player I really don’t he is arsenal material Sanchez now he a killa but he has no manners and don’t know how to conduct him self likewise Adebayor u feel me next is van Persie we stand by him through all his mistakes and as soon as he made one season injury free he opted to run too our enemy what a puts as I said Eddie isn’t a bad striker just work on your body strength don’t let just push you off the ball like that toughen up lad and make me proud