Arsenal were recently dealt a blow after Gabriel Jesus suffered a knee injury at the World Cup, which gives Eddie Nketiah an opportunity in the starting XI.
The Brazil international could miss up to three months of action, and while Nketiah will surely be disappointed for his teammate, this is the type of moment he has been waiting for after signing a new £100,000-a-week contract.
However, the Arsenal No.14 will not be pleased to hear what Mikel Arteta and Edu are planning.
What’s the story?
Well, the Gunners are believed to have drawn up a shortlist of options to replace Jesus – according to Calciomercato.
The Italian news outlet believe Cody Gakpo, Dusan Vlahovic, Tammy Abraham and Jonathan David are among Arteta and Edu’s options to cover for the injured South American.
Crucially, none of those strikers would join to sit on the bench behind Nketiah, as they are all starters at their respective clubs.
Therefore, it would suggest Arteta does not have faith in Nketiah to replace Jesus, so we wouldn’t be surprised if the England Under-21 international feels pretty angry after hearing this rumour.
The Hale End graduate was patient last season as he played deputy to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, scoring five goals in the final seven Premier League games after the latter picked up an injury and the Gabon international was offloaded.
In that respect, we doubt Nketiah was very happy to see someone as talented as Jesus arrive to once again shove him down the pecking order, and if Arteta does manage to sign one of Gakpo, Vlahovic, Abraham or David, it wouldn’t surprise us if the striker asked to leave.
Arsenal must trust Nketiah
If Arsenal do not place their trust in Nketiah to replace Jesus, then we can’t understand why Arteta and Edu even bothered tying him down to a new contract.
The London-born striker is too good to be sitting on the bench every week, and if he does see another superstar arrive as competition for a starting role, we feel he should hand in a transfer request.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
