Should Arsenal persuade Eddie Nketiah to stay?


Nketiah

Should Arsenal persuade Eddie Nketiah to stay?

By Tom Masters

Arsenal are in the unenviable position of currently not having a single striker next season, after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left in January, and both Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah due to leave this summer.

There have been links to several forward signings including Darwin Nuñez, Armando Broja, Lautaro Martinez and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, while it has emerged recently that Arsenal are among the favourites to sign Gabriel Jesus.

But their transfer targets will go beyond just the central attacking position, with further defensive cover and a holding midfielder also likely to be on Mikel Arteta’s shopping list. 

It is imperative that Arsenal sign at least one striker this summer, but two may be a stretch, so the question remains: Should Arsenal convince Eddie Nketiah to stay? 

His recent form has been outstanding, scoring two against Chelsea as Arsenal stunned the Blues with a 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge, while he again looked the business in the Gunners’ 3-1 win over Manchester United at the Emirates on Saturday. 

Those two goals were his first two of the Premier League season, in only his second start of the campaign, but he has proven himself as a genuine goal scorer elsewhere, netting on five occasions in the Carabao Cup. 

For some people, his inclusion in the starting XI against Chelsea raised an eyebrow, but Arsenal attacking midfielder Martin Odegaard was not at all surprised saying: “He has worked so hard the whole season, he has trained so good, and yeah, I am really happy for him.” 

This trust from a major first team player in Odegaard shows the stature Nketiah has in the Arsenal dressing room and is something that could well be seen by Arteta as another reason to try to convince the young English forward to stay in North London. 

Nketiah has also never really been given a proper chance to prove himself at Arsenal, making only 14 starts in his 54 Premier League appearances, but proving his ability on numerous occasions elsewhere, namely for England U21, where he bagged 16 goals in 17 appearances.  

His salary is another reason Arteta may deem him worthy of keeping, with Nketiah currently earning £45,000 per week, and realistically a new striker signing would demand much more. 

Nketiah has not yet properly had the opportunity to prove himself as a number one option for the Gunners yet, but as a second option up front, there can be no doubting that Nketiah has the credentials.

He also has the Arsenal know-how to be an important part of the Gunners side going forward and perhaps it would be advisable for Arteta to try to keep hold of the 22-year-old. 

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