Should Arsenal sell Eddie Nketiah to Crystal Palace?

Eddie Nketiah

Should Arsenal sell striker Eddie Nketiah to Premier League rivals Crystal Palace?

By Jack Lacey-Hatton

It is a big summer for Eddie Nketiah. For a long-time he has been heralded as a future Arsenal number nine, but now faces the biggest decision of his young career so far.

The England under-21 record goalscorer has long shown potential to be a valuable asset at the Emirates, a player worth investing time in.

Now 22, he is approaching a decisive phase in his career.

Will he seek the first team football needed to aid his development, or take his chances at Arsenal and fight for a place alongside Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Nketiah did start in the pre-season friendly against Hibernian this week, only to miss a great chance, firing wide when clean through on goal.

Speculation has intensified all summer that he will leave the club and potentially stay in the Premier League, by moving across London to Crystal Palace.

He has previously talked about self-belief being the most important area of his development, but the question is, will Arsenal now back him?

 

The case for selling

The elephant in the room that will appear if Nketiah does stick around in North London, is ‘why has it not already happened for him here?’

A lot of the best we have seen of the 22-year-old striker has come when he has been wearing an England U-21 or Leeds United shirt.

Only flashes of promise have been shown in the red of Arsenal. Every time he has had a chance at the Gunners it seems to have passed him by.

At the start of last season, he was straight in the starting XI for the Community Shield against Liverpool. Yet within a few weeks he was back on the bench, not seeing a huge amount of game time.

His lack of conviction in front of goal in the pre-season friendly this week, also sums up his Arsenal career so far.

For all his pace and clever movement, Nketiah simply hasn’t got a great goal record for the club. In the last four seasons, he has scored five goals in the Premier League, in 38 games.

If offered a decent price by Palace it could very well be time to cash in.

 

The case for keeping

Nketiah’s goal record for Arsenal may be patchy, but the fact those 38 league games are spread across four seasons combined, tells its own story.

He has rarely been given a proper run in and around the first XI. Is it fair to properly assess him without this?

The other issue is that Folarin Balogun, considered by many to be Nketiah’s rival for a spot in the striking department, is still relatively untested.

He is just 19 and still is something of an unknown quantity to Mikel Arteta. Nketiah’s vaster experience of first team football, perhaps makes him the safer bet for first team minutes next season.

Arsenal need to hit the ground running, and the man from Lewisham could be a better support act for the more senior strikers.

If the price isn’t right, why should he be sold? Particularly to a fellow Premier League club.

 

Verdict

The main issue with Nketiah staying around at the Emirates is his contract, which expires next year.

If the club want any sort of price for a player they have nurtured for the last five years, they will most likely have to sell him now or risk losing him on a free transfer.

With his chances of first team football still limited next season, the club probably has little option but to negotiate with Crystal Palace.

It certainly won’t be an easy decision for the Arsenal hierarchy. There is undoubtedly some talent waiting to be unlocked at the right club, with the right manager.

Palace could be that club, and you can imagine Arteta will have already envisioned a situation where Nketiah makes a goalscoring return to the Emirates in the colours of the Eagles.

However, with Balogun also waiting in the wings, and the potential to still bring in another striker this summer, the time feels right to let Nketiah move on.

Photo credit: Getty Images

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