Eddie Nketiah’s superb form for Arsenal means England international Tammy Abraham would not necessarily be an upgrade at the Premier League leaders, Darren Bent tells talkSPORT (10 January, 4.30pm).
There were two finishes only a player in red-hot form and brimming with confidence may have attempted, let alone pulled off. Nketiah had barely had a sniff of a chance until being put through one-v-one by Fabio Vieira’s defence-splitting pass during Monday’s 3-0 FA Cup third-round win at Oxford United.
But there was a sense of inevitability about the way Arsenal’s number 30 skipped round the goalkeeper before rolling the ball effortlessly into an open goal. He’s making goalscoring look easy these days. Nketiah would double his tally just six minutes later; the sort of instinctive, inventive finish Thierry Henry once made his trademark in Gunners colours.
Nketiah now has seven goals in just 11 starts for Mikel Arteta this season; four of those coming during the injury-enforced absence of Gabriel Jesus following the World Cup break.
Eddie Nketiah is flying at Arsenal amid links with Roma striker Tammy Abraham
“Eddie has done really well,” says Bent, the Arsenal-supporting former Tottenham Hotspur poacher. “He’s scoring goals. I think he’s convincing people, but it’s about consistency. He’s got to keep it going.”
Arsenal are reportedly keeping tabs on with Roma’s £65 million-rated frontman Tammy Abraham. But, as Bent points out, why swap a forward in the form of his life for a man who has just four goals in 17 Serie A games this season under Jose Mourinho?
“Tell me a world-class striker who’s out there you can get. I like Tammy. But you’re talking about a guy who’s got four goals this season,” Bent adds, before suggesting that Arteta should also avoid splashing out on a new central defender given the strength in depth available to him at the Emirates Stadium.
“I’d like to see another centre-back come in but you’ve got one there (in reserve). If there’s an injury, Ben White goes into centre-half, (Takehiro) Tomiyasu goes in at right-back.”
One player who does look likely to arrive before February’s transfer deadline, however, is Shakhtar Donetsk talisman Mykhaylo Mudryk. Arsenal have already agreed a five-year, £120,000-a-week deal with the Ukraine international (The Sun).
Rivals Chelsea appear to be out of the picture for the time being too; Joao Felix arriving from Atletico Madrid to boost Graham Potter’s beleaguered Blues.
Mudryk, one of the fastest forwards in Europe, has 10 goals and eight assists this season.
“(Mudryk has) got potential to score more than he does. He’s powerful, really quick,” former Liverpool ace Danny Murphy says (talkSPORT).
“He’s quite raw, he’s not one of these players with great awareness (who will be) playing really intricate passes. But he’s great on the counter. Really dangerous on the counter. He is a powerful boy. He will add competition for places and you’d think he’d improve.”
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