Former Premier League star Michael Owen has hailed Arsenal youngster Eddie Nketiah and believes the English attacker can become ‘a goal machine’.
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Owen, now retired, currently plies his trade as a football pundit and the former England international believes Arsenal’s Nketiah could become one of the sport’s most prolific forwards.
Nketiah, 21, joined Arsenal’s youth academy from Chelsea in 2015 and after climbing the Gunners’ ranks mixed with a successful short-term loan spell with Leeds United, the young Englishman is in line to become a first-team regular for Mikel Arteta.
The 21-year-old’s latest goalscoring heroics came during England under-21’s 5-0 thrashing over Albania in a game which saw the Arsenal man scored twice.
Nketiah was denied an international hat-trick after missing a penalty kick but did display a thoroughly brilliant performance otherwise.
Speaking live on BT Sport after Tuesday’s under-21s Euros qualifier, Owen was quick to praise the 21-year-old and believes he could grow to become one of the sport’s most clinical marksman.
“He’s very good,” Owen said, as quoted by Metro.
“He’s got a real smell for it, hasn’t he? He knows where the ball’s going to drop. I like his movement. I like his hunger to score goals.
“Some players are confidence players. If you miss a penalty and you’re a confidence player, you go missing all game.
“If you’ve just got pure self-belief, it just shrugs off you and you’re just onto the next one.
“With that type of attitude, with the way he plays, he’s just going to be a goal machine all his career.
“The key for him is obviously trying to get consistently into that Arsenal team, and then all his horizons are open.”
Nketiah already has 10 first-team goals to his name for Arsenal and will be hoping his recent international performance can bump him up Arteta’s plans when the Gunners face-off against the 21-year-old’s former side, Leeds United on Sunday.