I feel insulted as an Arsenal fan to hear that our loan deal with Leeds United has been called off because our talented youngster Eddie Nketiah was not getting enough playing time. If Eddie cannot be guaranteed playing time in a club like Leeds United (no disrespect meant), then he needs to be taken away from them, and I am glad the club did just that. But after returning him back to Arsenal, won’t it make sense to allow him remain at Arsenal till the end of the season and contribute his little quota in helping Arsenal end the season on a high?
We have enough attacking players at Arsenal right now but with lots of games yet to be played this season and with the way our players are picking up injuries easily, then it will be wise to keep one or two extra player, who can be called upon to do a job when the team needs them to. Gabriel Martinelli seems to be the youngster on fire right now, but even he was not expected to feature much for Arsenal this season. That he has started playing almost regularly for the first team, is as result of him grabbing his opportunities when they were presented to him, in the cup games. His course was also largely helped by Lacazette’s injury.
Eddie Nketiah, is a very talented player and he is also a goal scorer. He has pace, good positional skills and he has dribbling skills. With Lacazette not really finding his form right now, I think Eddied should be allowed to stay with the team and then be introduced gradually into the team, especially when we need a point man in the attack. Apart from Lacazette, Nketiah is the other target man we have.
When things are getting hot in a game and we need a different tactical approach, Nketiah can be brought on to do the job. Eddie is a player that needs all the encouragement he can get from the big players in Arsenal. Even if he were not to play regularly, it will do him a lot of good to remain at Arsenal and mix with players he aspires to be like. With Aubameyang and Lacazette being the top strikers in Arsenal right now, Eddie’s playing time may be grossly limited but then he can learn a lot from these great players and prepare himself to take over from them when the opportunity arises.
In the meantime, Eddie should be utilized in the cup games and from there, he can build his game and gradually start playing for the first team.
We are Arsenal and we are proud.
Sylvester Kwentua