Arsenal have confirmed the departure of Eddie Nketiah to Crystal Palace on a permanent deal worth in the region of £25 plus £5 million in add-ons.
The England international’s move to Selhurst Park draws a line under nine years as a Gunner during which he’s scored 38 goals in 168 appearances.
Nketiah was handed his professional debut by Arsene Wenger in a Europa League tie with BATE Borisov in September 2017 and scored his first goals for the club the following month in a memorable substitute cameo against Norwich in the League Cup.
He was sent on loan to Leeds United at the start of Unai Emery’s second season but was recalled by Mikel Arteta when the Spaniard took over in the dugout. A second loan was eschewed in favour of a run in the first team and he would later come off the bench in the behind-closed-doors FA Cup final win over Chelsea in 2020.
For all his quality, especially inside the box, Nketiah struggled to shake off his status as a secondary option in attack. Indeed, after penning a contract extension that opened the door for him to emerge from the shadows of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Lacazette, Arteta signed Gabriel Jesus.
While the Brazilian’s fitness problems repeatedly left the door open for Nketiah, he just didn’t score enough goals in the league to earn the full trust of his manager. 19 goals in 116 appearances in the Premier League attests to that.
There were still plenty of memorable moments in an Arsenal shirt. He scored braces against Chelsea and Manchester United, the latter including a last-minute winner, and he netted a hat-trick against Sheffield United last October that earned him a first England call-up. They turned out to be his final goals as a Gunner.
Nketiah had agreed personal terms with Marseille and was the subject of an approach from Nottingham Forest before Palace made their move.
Best of luck, Eddie.
Nothing else to say but best of luck Eddie! May you score many goals against city, sp*rs, pool and Chelsea, and none against Arsenal!
Hale end boy for the rest of his life until the day he dies. Once a gooner always a gooner.
Thank you for your contribution to the Arsenal, Eddie Nketiah, and all the best for the present and future.
This is one of the better selling values we’ve achieved. Great fee for an academy product. Eddie gets the chance to prove himself as the man at palace. Good luck fella…
For once I agree with you. We’re laughing all the way to the bank with this fee…I’d have taken half that…lol.
Good price achieved. But why would you pay more for Eddie than Rambo! We undersold him hugely.
Congrats, Eddie. Excel. We love you ❤️🙏🏾
Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!
Damn I knew we were bad at selling but 25£ + 5m £ for Eddie is hardly more than an apple and an egg..
Higher resale value than Auba , Mesut and Laca combined.
Can’t wait to see him score 15 goals for Palace this season
All of them against Manch115ter $chitty, Man Ure, Chel$hit, Liverpoo, and Spurms, I hope.
He can score 30 goals this season, just not against us. Or he can score 6 goals all season – 2 hat tricks against shitty
couldn’t stand a minute more of him on the pitch, but i really, really think he’s gonna find his place at palace, starting regularly and even competing for the golden boot at some point. a very good move for everyone involved. good luck eddie!
Palace’s Jordan Ayew replacement, took his number too. Will probably be part of a two striker system with Mateta. Excellent landing spot for him, great fit for a big need for Palace, and a really good fee for Arsenal. Everyone wins!
Fair’s fair – a brilliant piece of business. All the best, Eddie.
I thought the Marseille move was the best for him personally.
At Palace shadows of Mateta looms large and on the surface I reckon he probably be a backup or supporting player to Mateta.
However the fee paid for Nketiah suggest that Palace does rate and see him as a valid potential starter and I look forward to seeing Oliver G pulling a trick or two with Nketiah similar to what he did with Mateta.
For me Nketiah have been a model pro for Arsenal..
Good luck to him, Emile, the Rams and Reiss on their journey this season