Is This Arsenal Star Playing Himself Into A Major Move? Wrighty thinks so! by Darren N
Eddie Nketiah should see Gabriel Jesus’ injury as a blessing in disguise. He is now Arteta’s only fit natural striker, so the Spaniard has no choice but to rely on him.
So, how long can we expect Nketiah to lead Artetas’ assault? With Arsenal interested in Mykhailo Mudryk, I believe Nketiah will lead Arteta’s attack until Gabriel Jesus is fit and ready to return. So, why do I think so?
Mudryk can play anywhere in the attacking third, but he is not a striker. At Shakhtar Donetsk, the 21-year-old has mostly played as a left winger, and his rise to prominence has come when he has covered that position.
With Nketiah scoring twice in three starts for Arsenal, Arteta’s attack could be in good hands. Arsenal legend Ian Wright can’t stop gushing about how natural it feels for Nketiah to be filling in for the injured Jesus.
“Eddie Nketiah is under a lot of pressure; people are thinking, is he going to do it? He’s just signed a new deal. Everybody’s talking about how much he’s supposedly getting. It’s irrelevant what he’s getting because Mikel [Arteta] knows he can come in and do it,” said Wright on The Kelly and Wrighty Show.
“This moment he’s [Nketiah] in now, where Arsenal’s main striker is out, he’s [Jesus] the guy they signed. He’s been there since he’s 14; he’s a goal scorer at all the levels.”
Other than that, Wright also hinted Nketiah could be playing himself into a transfer away from Arsenal, saying, “Now he’s come on the stage and he’s actually scoring. This is his time to build that profile, to be that guy. What people will see is that when he came in, he was under pressure, and he’s done it. Now people will say, ‘I want to take him as my main guy’.
“He’s now proving that he can deal with that. He can deal with the fact that, yeah, ‘I can go in and be the main man’. His link-up play has been good, he sniffs around the box as well and he’s scoring the goals.”
Nketiah had the option of leaving Arsenal as a free agent last summer, but he chose to stay. He didn’t play much before the World Cup break, but now he has the opportunity to do so.
If he continues to impress, he could become Arteta’s main man and not leave to play for another team.
Darren N
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Hopefully, he will move on because he’s certainly not good enough at Arsenal.
was just about to just type HOPEFULLY myself
Too early to say, I think.
IMO he has done well in his first 3 starts this season. It is too little to judge him by.
Hope he continues like that, and then he will be very valuable.
Who actually believes he will become the “main man” and replace Jesus as the starter?
Currently showing he can be productive and it’s good for him and the team. However, it’s quite far fetched to think he can be the long term starter as this squad continues to develop into a real force.
@Durand
Thank you. As long as he’s good enough to hold down the position while Jesus is out, then he’s doing fine.
Looks like no matter how good Nkhetie plays most fans will never trust him, bcos of some imaginary striker they wish we buy. You people need to be open minded. If u are to judge him on his recent performance, he has done well, even more than expected
agreed!!!
He doesn’t need to be the no1 striker at the club – he almost always plays well when given the chance, and as long as he’s happy to back up jesus, he’s a great player to have around.
I know we used to play 442, but it was such an advantage to have wiltord and kanu backing up Henry and Bergkamp in the old days – when we needed to score, wenger would throw all of them onto the pitch, generally to good effect. Ferguson did similar with Yorke, Cole, Sheringham and solskjaer. Maybe the game has moved on a bit, but still having attacking talent in reserve can only be a good thing – the challenge is keeping everyone happy, but arteta seems pretty good with that tbf
The need for more strength in depth in attack and midfield was evident last night particularly so in the continued absence of ESR.Our front three have done very well so far this season and Eddie has been effective since he came in for Jesus.However the lack of viable alternatives up front is a concern and I thought Martinelli showed some sign of fatigue against Newcastle for the first time this season.Not surprising for a young player who has played a big part in our successes thus far.I was surprised Vieira was not given an opportunity last night as he can play on either flank but perhaps a match against a rugged, physical Newcastle side, on a cold January evening would not have suited him.As to the point made by Ian Wright ,by doing well since coming in for our best striker, he has probably become a saleable asset which was not the case before his “promotion”
My personal opinion Grandad is Viera was a complete waste of 30 odd mil.
Nketiah has a golden opportunity to show his value to Arsenal in the long term. If he delivers, there will be a few situations where having him and Jesus in the same eleven would be valuable.
Would Arsenal hire Nketiah if he were playing for another club, I think it’s a no. However, he already has achieved a good understanding with both his teammates and Arteta, thus I would keep him; again, only if he achieves expectations in the coming weeks.
Assuming he (Nketiah) is playing for another team at this level we would be bidding for him at £100m. Appreciate what you have.
If Eddie moves on it won’t be to a top club, he knows that.
If Arsenal get good money for an academy product, so much the better, it’s about time.
With only one striker fit, I suspect that Eddie’s going nowhere for now though, unless all 3 of these things are true:
1. It’s a very good price and
2. It happens early in the window and
3. There’s a replacement lined up (good luck negotiating a price for strikers in January when the selling club knows that you have 0 strikers fit and able to play).
I see no point in this article at all, as it talks about a fantasy situation!
No REALIST could, even for a moment, imagine Nketiah, recently signed til 2027 and enjoying his role as our main striker(for quite some weeks to come , AT LEAST, being remotely interested in leaving Arsenal. Nor the club in wishing or letting him go, even where he to wish to, which he PLAINLY WILL NOT!
In truth then, it is yet another article written purely for the sake of writing; SOMETHING, ANYTHING, HOWEVER POINTLESS.
Something suggested by SOMEONE that is not justarsenal.com
Pat I reckon you must have paranoia, as I DID NOT WRITE that justarsenal.com wrote it. I simply said it was pointless. Sometimes people who are NOT JA insiders ALSO write pointless nonsense. You do not have a monopoly on it!
Yes of course Nketiah could get himself a move away, if he proved himself, Why not? Arteta will never play him over Jesus, so if he does well, what can he expect? If he proves he is up to it, he can put himself in the shop window. If he doesn’t then there would be that elephant in the room that is 100k a week.
No, he’s playing himself into a long stay at Arsenal, not at another club. He’s doing ok, stop suggesting otherwise.