According to David Ornstein, Eddie Nketiah will spend next season out on loan with Leeds United and Bristol City leading the chase for his signature.
The England under-21 international came close to going on loan in January to Bundesliga side Augsburg but had the opportunity vetoed by Unai Emery who wanted to retain the striker as back-up to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Lacazette.
Nketiah, who was promoted to Arsenal’s first team and given a new squad number this summer, impressed on the recent tour of the US with goals against Bayern Munich and Fiorentina but still hinted at a desire to garner more experience elsewhere.
Highly-rated 20yo striker Eddie Nketiah set to leave Arsenal on season-long loan. Bristol City among a number of clubs in talks to sign England youth int’l. Currently no firm offers for defender Shkodran Mustafi & he wants to stay – but foreign teams have longer to do a deal #AFC
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) August 6, 2019
Having initially asked the youngster to focus on Arsenal it now looks as though Emery will sanction the 20-year-old’s departure. A host of Championship sides, including Swansea City and Cardiff City, have expressed an interest.
Another possibility emerging for Leeds United – 20-year-old prospect Eddie Nketiah at Arsenal. Understand he's being considered if the club opt to take an out-and-out forward over Ryan Kent. #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) August 6, 2019
It’s now up to loan manager Ben Knapper and the player’s representatives to decide where he might best fit.
Obviously, it leaves Arsenal a little light up front, particularly when you look ahead to the early rounds of the Europa League and League Cup, but with Tyreece John-Jules penning a new contract yesterday, perhaps we’re looking at the Academy to provide answers.
There’s also new boy Gabriel Martinelli who will be hoping to make an early impression.
It will be a good ideal if the Loan go through in order to gain more playing time and also to come back strong next season….coyg
We still have no idea who this Ornstein character is.
Lol..not we obviously..
I heard he works for Trump!
can he play CB?
Once Eddie gets going he will be prolific. I’m thinking his ceiling is Ian Wright territory.
A loan move will be great but with a recall clause in case.
Absolutely not! The manager opposed sending him on loan last year now wants him on loan after one year of development. This kind of things destroys players confidence. Next year, he will want to sell him, I suppose.
The manager who opposed sending him on loan last season but didn’t play him. I don’t think this has anything to do with what Emery wishes, but will be decided by the player and the new transition team, to work out what is best for his development. Warming the bench isn’t going to do him any good.
yeah post the less important first 🙂
He should go to loan. He’s path is blocked currently and it wouldn’t be fair to hold him down as a backup while he needs game time to develop.
Makes sense, very good player, always to eager to impress. The loan will do him a world of good.
I can’t help but think we will end up regretting this!
Think I would have kept him in the first team squad too…play him in every cup game and Europa league game and have him on the bench for league games. Such a promising talent.
From what I’ve seen martinelli will be the more usefull
I’ve been really impressed moth Martinelli this preseason as well. Hopeful he can get a few goals this season and crack on. He’s got the look of something special about him.
He looks like he has some way to go but there is some flair / class in his play
Competiting with the like of Auba and laca will not do him good. Going out on loan will improve him and then he can start playing with the bigger Boys
Would have liked to see him stay here, but a loan os probanly for the best as we now have pepe, martelleni, saka and nelson to play on the wings
No takers for Mustafi. Shocking.
We can’t keep denigrating and booing our player and then think that another club will take him off our hands. Mustafi will not get any better if we keep blaming him for everything wrong with our defence. We did that with Eboue and that shattered his confidence; he was never the same after that.
Ok, maybe booing is not necessary, but his time at the club must be up. He had so many opportunities, now is the time to tell him that he will not play if he stays, relationship is beyond repair IMO.
Nketia is better off with regular play time rather competing with Pepe, Lacazette, Auba and Nelson on top.
Auba and Lazacette are just on a different level… and hopefully Pepe too.
Can Pepe play as a striker?
He can and initially at Lille under Bielsa he did. He wasn’t great but then neither were the whole team weren’t great at that time and he’s since developed. So he can really play anywhere across the front three best from the right.
Sounds good; I would like to see us in a fixed 4-3-3 this season.
Maybe we should just flood the pitch with forwards to compensate for our lack of competent defenders
Neither Messi or Robben are strikers in that sense, but that never stopped them from scoring shit loads of goals
If I were Eddie I would be tempted to play under Biesla.
Yes, that would be a great choice.
I hope there is a recall clause, don’t want to tempt the injury gods!
I like Bielsa but I wouldn’t want to see one of our players on loan at Leeds; a few bad games and Elland Road becomes a hostile crowd, especially for a young player who is only there on loan.
Can’t think of a better place to prepare for Emirates Stadium then.
How much $$ coming in? none I assume.
Why would you assume that? Of course there will be a small fee.
I don’t exactly like this. This guy has come of age. If either of Auba or Laca have na injury, we are suddenly short of a centre forward. I know he needs to develop but I can see him realistically pushing for a place in the team. I also fear because our loaning system at Arsenal almost seems like an eventual goodbye. Wojech, Ospina, Gnabry,Belik etc
I’d rather he went to another Premier league side or Germany, personally think it’d be more beneficial. Championship is a very different league and we’ve seen many strikers do well in that but couldn’t hit a barn door in the Premiership.
Leeds do seem to be playing the right kind of game under Bielsa though
I have a sneaking suspicion that Eddie requested for this knowing he won’t get much play time, and all Emery’s talk of the Europa will be used for the kids, I bet will largely be full of senior players like Mikhi and Mustafi, to keep their match sharpness, and outside of the likes of Willock and Nelson, maybe even Martinelli, the rest won’t get a look in.
I think Eddie going on loan is also evidence that any idea that Emery will field all three of Pepe, Lacca and Auba isn’t gonna happen.
I mean field all 3 at the same time. Some have got into the idea that he will field a forward 3 of all 3 players, but if Eddie is going on loan, that makes no sense as that’s all our forward playing at the same time.
“perhaps we’re looking at the Academy to provide answers.” Eddie IS the answer from our academy. how about we loan John-Jules out instead?
Exactly. TJJ should be below Eddie in the pecking order, now is his turn to get some chances. I’d use Auba as LW, Laca as CF and Pepe as RW, then have Nelson as LW, Eddie as CF and Saka or Martinelli on the right wing as a second option to rotate.
Mikhi should be sold for whatever, too slow for the wing, Iwobi as well.
Eddie needs to play regularly, otherwise he is not gonna make it to the next level.
Why not sell him for £5 mill? #EmeryOut
If he goes , hope it’s to Leeds.
Marcelo Bielsa is an extraordinary coach.
Will train Eddie in to more mature , tactically astute striker.
Bielsa will have him sat in hedges spying on the opposition!
Lol good one.i can literally see the kid doing that in my head.
Bielsa is the most overrated coach i ever seen, maybe a good teacher/talker for other coach,
but him been the actual head coach rarely bring result , he has one good season in europe with marseille finishing 2nd, the rest of the time he has been sack or he walk away when thing dont go his way
he probably find his level in the championship
Seems a bit risky, what with us only having 2 proper strikers. Could do him good though. Worked for Reiss last season.
At the moment, with the options we have in attack, Eddie would end up not even making the bench for most weeks, so let’s hope he comes back ready for the 1st team. Would rather he goes overseas though.
Sorry to go off topic – L’Equipe (via the BBC) claim Coutinho is happening
https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Transferts-philippe-coutinho-vers-arsenal/1046659
I think this would be a bad decision. I want Eddie as our back up striker. I think he has it in him to fill that role this season
Please insert a clause that says he can be brought back from his loan when the annual injury crisis hits…
Hope he doesn’t become the new Akpom.
On the plus side, if he goes out on loan, he can still score a heap of goals and turn heads.
As far as we are concern, I think John-Jules can fill a potential spot but may be a season too soon. BUT the lad has better physical attributes in height and size than Nketiah.
Hope to see Nelson kept in first squad along with Willock.
Also people have conveniently forgotten Smith-Rowe.
I’d like to see him step up this season (he is 19yrs). We should try and move Mhkitaryan on and make space for ESR,with Ozil and Ceballos in the AM role. Ceballos of course also to cover deep midfield.
Leeds sounds fantastic for Eddie. To learn his craft under psycho like Bielsa might be beneficial.