Ian Wright thinks Eddie Nketiah had a ‘brilliant night’ as Arsenal beat Chelsea 4-2 in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge.
The 22-year–old netted a brace and Wright claimed that Nketiah answered critics after ‘people were constantly questioning him’, as he told Premier League Productions (20/04/22 at 10:10 pm).
Nketiah netted on either side of the half, including opening the scoring and pouncing on a poorly-timed backpass by Andreas Christensen.
Arsenal haven’t been able to showcase that ruthless nature to their game of late, but it was on show yesterday at the Bridge.
Wright has previously been critical of Nketiah, but he gave him his due rewards for standing tall during such a difficult period for his club.
“Brilliant night for him,” said Wright. “Big mistake from Christensen. You are hoping, does he have the composure to take that chance? And that’s what Arsenal have needed.
“I had to smile because he has been waiting for these opportunities for so long. People constantly questioning him. Would he be able to do it? And he’s done it.
“As he (Nketiah) said, ‘he just wants a run of games to prove that he can score goals in this team’. What we saw was somebody who took those chances.
“For the second goal, there was a lot of luck involved. But he was in there and sniffing out. And he finished. The first one was brilliant. Running from the halfway line. Composure. Took it very, very well. Arsenal needed that.”
Alexandre Lacazette was on the bench for Arsenal against Chelsea and he came on in the dying minutes following his return to the squad.
Performances like this from Nketiah should now leave the current stand-in captain out of the XI.
That’s what the fans want to see because, if that happens, then it means the Gunners are securing maximum points and players are doing their jobs.
The next stop is the short trip back home and welcoming an out-of-sorts Manchester United team to the Emirates.
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