Mikel Arteta believes Eddie Nketiah is ready to lead the line as Arsenal’s top attacker, claiming that he has more and more faith in him every day.
The Gunners return to Premier League action today as they take on London rivals West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal sit top of the Premier League table and will be looking to continue their outstanding campaign so far.
Yet they will have to do it without Gabriel Jesus; the Brazilian striker picked up a knee injury at the World Cup and is facing a few months out.
Arsenal must now call upon Eddie Nketiah to lead their attack – a situation that has sparked some split opinions.
Arteta backs Nketiah to shine for Arsenal
Some believe that Nketiah just isn’t good enough to lead the Arsenal attack, especially when they’re pushing for the Premier League title.
Others think that Nketiah deserves his chance and his fine end to last season shows that he can deputise admirably.
Boss Arteta unsurprisingly falls into the latter category.
Arteta oversaw the decision to give Nketiah a new contract towards the end of last season.
That hasn’t resulted in starts for Nketiah, who has played just 142 minutes in the Premier League this term.
Yet Arteta remains adamant that he believes In Nketiah, and feels that the 23-year-old is ready to take his big chance.
Speaking to The Independent, Arteta claims that he and his Arsenal staff believe in Nketiah more and more each day.
Arteta claims that Nketiah brings so much as a person and as a player, and thinks the striker is ready to prove his worth in the Arsenal starting lineup.
“We have more faith in Eddie every single day,” said Arteta. “We see every day what he brings to the team, what he is as a human being and the way he is developing as a player. We got a great response last year when we needed him and he did really well for the team.”
“He is ready. That is why he signed his contract. He is a key player in our squad and he is going to have chances to play,” he added.
Replacing everything Jesus brings to Arsenal isn’t easy. Goals aren’t the only factor here, it’s everything from pressing to link-up play and drifting around the pitch, becoming difficult to track.
Nketiah has shown his fox in the box qualities in the past, but to truly replace Jesus, he will need to bring more than just predatory instincts.
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