Eddie Nketiah’s brace against Chelsea went a long way to helping the Gunners to three points in the 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge last night, and the goals came in just his second Premier League start of the season.
In a week when he spoke openly about wanting a run of games to show what he can, the 22 year old stepped up, opening the scoring in the first half, and putting us ahead with a crucial goal in the second.
It takes his tally for the season to 7 in all competitions, and the Hale End graduate was pleased he could make a contribution to the team and its fight for a top four finish.
“I think in life you never know when your chance is coming, so you’ve just got to be ready and thankfully today I was able to help the team,” he told the official Arsenal website.
“Obviously, it’s nice to score, but it’s more important to be involved in a win in a London derby and getting the three points to bounce back, that’s the most important thing.
“In a London derby, against a big team like Chelsea to get the three points is amazing and I think it’s going to give us confidence going into the game on the weekend.”
His display prompted a question to Mikel Arteta in his post-game press conference, about why he has been so bullish when speaking about the striker in recent weeks.
“If there is one player that I have been unfair with, I think it is him,” he said.
“He has given me every right to do something different, so if Eddie hasn’t played more, it’s my fault and because as a manager I have missed something or I haven’t had the courage to play him more, and today he showed me again how wrong I was.”
Eddie is likely to keep his place for Saturday’s visit of Man Utd, so let’s hope he can do it again, twist Harry Maguire into ribbons, and find the back of the net again.
After being and the Southampton game and seeing him be very ineffectual, I was prepared to say goodbye.
Now I’m reconsidering. How many of you want to keep him? Comment plus upvote to keep him, downvote for him to go.
Downvote and a comment from me.
I’ll rather wait to see what he does with an extended run in the starting 11, before changing my mind.
I’ll rather he plays than Laca, but one good game won’t change my mind
He has scored some good goals in his short career.
Tbh, I still think he’s not good enough. Even the goals he got (which were great to get no doubt) were lucky scrappy goals. His build up support is rather minimal. Whatever happens we need a striker better than Eddie nketiah next season. If he resigns he gives us some depth sure, but I’m not convinced he’s a better option than Balogun let alone Martinelli. He reminds me of chicharito, he’s fine but you’re not going fast of he’s your main striker.
Why couldn’t you give him the same chance of extended run in the starting 11 before writing him off? Typical Arsenal fan, bad patch for a player means he’s finished. Did it to Auba, AMN, Nelson, Pepe, Cedric, Laca, Willock, El Neny- the list is endless. What makes it absurd is some of these players hardly get game time and when they underperform in one occasional chance given to them, then he’s not good enough for the Arsenal. Fickle!
You just answered your own question. He was never going to get a run with Laca and Auba ahead of him. It was down to him to show potential whenever his chance came. You know like Martinelli did whenever he got a run out. Whatever he does in the next 6 matches, I’ll still want an upgrade brought in to be the main striker next season. Can he prove himself to be a decent squad player though.
It wasn’t a bad patch as he’s never had a good patch.
I’m probably where you are. Doesn’t this come out in the wash? He’s probably a starter now and if he does well we will try to keep him and sign the No1 Striker (which we are going to do anyway)……if he doesn’t do well he will leave.
The worst scenario is he does well, not quite well enough to get CL and he goes and signs somewhere else even though we would prefer to keep him. A shame but not the end of the world.
both his goals are pure luck. The kid has a schizophrenic work rate and has an arrogance in him that is far from warranted. Decent enough young player, but will not win us the PL anytime soon. I believe both Biereth and Edwards are bigger talents coming through. Time will tell. Now, Darwin Nunez is a spanish speaker, so I hope Arteta is all over him (both physically and mentally) but maybe Inter will need to sell Martinez, Arteta should sneak a dm to his onlyfans account.
Have a good day fellas!
How many u23 games have you ever been to? How many u18 games.
Maybe that’s his level.
35 goals for England’s under age teams says different. My question was to the lad above, I was wondering why he thinks biereth and Edwards are better prospects.
It’s nonsense to say his goals were pure luck. For the first he maae a very good run from inside his own half as soon as the ball us turned over. He pressurised Christensen into a bad pass, took it across the other defender who had a choice to take him down/red card or hold off, and he finished very well. Everything was good about that goal from the moment the ball was won in our half…if Saka or Martinelli had scored it I suspect your narrative would be very different
One good game versus how many forgettable ones? Eddie has to deliver more consistently.
To deliver more consistently it is probably vital to play more consistently. He is on 1 goal per 90 minutes this season, it’s pretty decent to be fair.
I upvoted, but I think we need to buy a first team striker who is a bit more of an aerial threat. Not sure Eddie would be happy playing as a second string striker but if we go for a forward who’s style contrasts Eddie’s we should be able to utilize both
Eddie holds all the cards and keeping him is not something we have any control over. If he is offered more game time and/or money elsewhere he will leave. I’m not sure Arsenal would be wise to promise him more of either unless he really tears it up in the next 6 games.
I think now is not the time to care. If Eddie scores a few more it does well for his career whether with us or without. Win win – we need his goals, he needs his goals.
I like him but if he was going to be a good enough striker for The Arsenal he would have shown it by now. While he might have been subject to loan, benching, etc he has never grabbed any of the situations he has been in by the scruff of the neck – the “top, top” mentality required isn’t there. Good luck to him though.
Weird question because the alternative is to leave a “sellable” asset for free.
The real question is how many would want him as a first striker. Second striker and third.
I would say I wouldn’t want him as a first option. Neither Second.
Does he want to stay if he is third?
I up voted, why not keep him when we are keeping other players… but has to start untill the end of the season (and bang in loads)
Ready you were, young man. Now more of the same on Saturday, please
Francis Coquelin was on his way out of Arsenal; an injury crisis brought him back from Charlton Athletic; he became our mainstay alongside Santi for two or three seasons.
I see a similar scenario brewing here.
It’s only one match, I know; but the confidence from that wonderful performance could make him a different player entirely.
I’d say: keep him; let Lacazette go; send Balogun out on another loan; sign a top striker and another winger, and move Martinelli to the centre.
Coq is a fantastic ball winning midfielder !
I hear they are going to erect a statue of coq
Phallusy! I hear it erects itself.
Cap doff
I’ve been ready to move on from Laca for at least 2 years now. He has his qualities but the inconsistency in goal scoring for such a long time is what puts me off from him. I really hoped he would grow in stature but he hasn’t. Nketiah, with proper coaching and learning is about 2 years away. I see lot of potential in Nketiah but I also see inexperienced green player who falls for easy tricks and allows mind games to get to him on the pitch. I’d still take him over Laca as starter for the remainder of… Read more »
Don’t worry, Maguire will probably twist t himself into ribbons. 😄😄
He could go on a super run of form and pose serious questions for the club and manager. I suspect he hasn´t played enough to do that but I´m hoping to be proven wrong. I think if he continues his pressing game he´s going to have some chances come Saturday – let´s see if he tucks them away.
What I worry about most with him is carelessly fouling a defender when there’s no need to. He already has a red for it in his few games and I think it’s the Southampton game where the ref gave him a talking to early in the game. That aside I’ve always wanted to see what he can do when given a good run just like the other kids. He was so unfortunate to get that when Arteta was starting out and we couldn’t create anything and that unfortunately soiled his reputation. Then comes his biggest issue! When you are waiting… Read more »
He stepped up in that game but he’s been really feeble in plenty of others. He needs to prove he can put the effort in on a regular basis, he’s floated around in games too often. I was happy to see him leave, but if he’s going to step up then he could have a future with Arsenal, it’ll be interesting to see if he wants it.
He needs to just go for it and take his chance for the rest of the season.
He might do so well it could force the manager to review his plans in the summer.
The one thing on his side is that Laca is hopeless….
Well kudos to Arteta for his comments about him, but reality is most of the fan base we’re with him on those xdecisions Eddie hasn’t really shown much till now, hence the restriction on his playing times, but he shown yesterday, in a difficult game, against a top side, that he does have something, so who knows, perhaps with more exposure, he might develop the confidence to earn what he desires, for me, just because he is one of our own kid, I will root for him, who knows, this might end up being his light bulb moment and he… Read more »
I haven’t stopped smiling since. That win was so immense, intense, unexpected and deserved. This “buzzing” feeling, when I remember Elneny snapping away with slide tackles, Xhaca’a nutmegs, Tavares steals, assists, Saka and Emile Smith Rowe! And I feel the air above my skin vibrate in a way that feeds my very being with pure joy. It’s a drug and I’m hooked, I need another fix on Saturday, bring it manure!
I think Eddie needs to build some toughness, and you get that through playing hard games, not just training… So I am really happy he is getting a chance. From there he can build his confidence and be more direct in his approach and positioning… He’s still experimenting on how to be a striker in the PL. Laca can do a few things well but not up to scratch for a top PL CF, and I think he knows it but hides it well… Maybe I am harsh on him, but yeah, no idea why we didnt sell him when… Read more »
The goals were a bit gervinho/chamakh-esque for me to get too excited. But watching Tammy Abraham making a career out of scoring shite goals, there might be hope for Eddie yet.
There was a defender’s mistake, but from then on, to be fair he took his first goal rather well.
I hope this is the start of something wonderful for eddie at arsenal
His stats at academy and England u21 level are very impressive. We all know the usual caveats that go along with this.
But his tenacity and desire in front of goal yesterday were a joy, and maybe a sign of bigger things to come.
Some say his goals at Chelsea are pure luck but if you check his past goals most of them are similar to the scrappy inside the box type of goals he scored few days ago, so that is not luck when you can repeat something again and again. He has a poacher instinct, physical presence and insane workrate. Build up and link up play though is not good enough for Arsenal. Would be a good substitute player but I doubt he would want to stay here just to be a sub.
I think he would stay if he’s a sub who gets looked at.
as a starter he can only be “guaranteed” that in the championship or relegation fighting team.
How does he know that he needs a run of games to be effective. He doesn’t have any data at this level to prove that. If he has a run of games at an easier level ok. But it is hard to get into a premier league starting 11 for a reason. He has to keep trying but his one sided development hasn’t brought on the all round play that players. He could become quite one dimensional like Podolski and Walcott to varying levels of success. In those two cases they were maximised by their ability to play on the… Read more »
He believes that experience and practice will make him a better player, which is the normal thing to assume, if there’s some talent.