‘Nearly left the club’: Sky pundit claims Arsenal 22-year-old playing for his future

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Alan Smith has claimed that Eddie Nketiah is playing for his Arsenal future, as he told Sky Sports Football (26/10/21 at 7:35 pm).

The former Highbury hitman stated that Nketiah ‘nearly left the club’ in the summer and he needs to ‘improve’ his game if he wants to push into the first-team picture.

Well, he didn’t do any of those chances any harm last night when he scored during Arsenal’s 2-0 League Cup win against Leeds.

It wasn’t the best of finishes from the 22-year-old, but it was a typical goal from the poacher, because he latched onto a mistake from Liam Cooper, dinked the ball over the keeper, before mis-hitting his shot into the back of the net.

Smith knows exactly what it’s like to lead the line for Arsenal and be a thriving force, as he shared what Nketiah needs to do.

On whether he is playing for his Arsenal future: “Yes, I think so,” said Smith. “I think he nearly left the club in the summer and he hasn’t really got close to the Premier League starting XI, has he?

“That must be a huge frustration. He has scored many goals in the Carabao Cup over the last couple of years. But the likes of Martinelli, Lacazette, Pepe, in those attacking positions, they are all ahead of him.

“He needs to improve his all-round game. He is an excellent poacher. He will pop up in the six-yard box and just toe-poke it in, which is no mean feat, it’s a great asset for any striker.

“At the moment, he has a lot of distance to cover before he gets into the starting XI or on the bench on a regular basis.”

Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are more than definitely ahead of Nketiah in the striker pecking order in North London.

When Auba switches out wide, then that does increase Nketiah’s chances of earning those minutes.

But after Lacazette’s performances in recent games, he has now worked his way back into Mikel Arteta’s starting XI.

The interesting thing with Lacazette is that his contract expires next summer, so if he doesn’t sign a new deal, then Arteta will be needing another out-and-out number nine to fill his void.