Mikel Arteta should not drop striker Eddie Nketiah once Gabriel Jesus returns to full fitness.
That is the view of former Aston Villa and Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore, who believes Nketiah, following an impressive run of form, deserves the chance to lead the Gunners line, even when £45m summer signing Jesus (Sky Sports) returns from injury.
After netting a game-winning brace against challengers Manchester United on Sunday, Nketiah, 23, is now just one goal away from hitting 10, across all competitions, for the season.
Jesus’ knee injury, which has seen the Brazilian out of action since the start of December, has allowed Nketiah a rare opportunity to come in and try to fill the void, and the 23-year-old has not disappointed. Consequently, Collymore has urged Arteta to stick with the London-born striker ahead of Jesus.
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“Gabriel Jesus cannot just come straight back into Arsenal’s starting 11 and if he does, I’d be really disappointed with Mikel Arteta,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
“Eddie Nketiah, who was absolutely brilliant on Sunday against Man United, is closing in on double figures for goals and it’s not yet February, so his next target will be 15 and then 20, and given the run of form he’s on at the moment, including his brace on the weekend, his manager should stick with him and make Jesus fight for his place again.
“Nketiah has not only shown that he can link the play up well but has also proven he’s a natural goalscorer. He has qualities that Jesus doesn’t. Not only that but if Arteta does drop Nketiah as soon as Jesus comes back, that’d send the wrong message to the other young players, so in my view, the Brazilian needs to accept his place is now behind Nketiah and be prepared to fight to win it back.”
Since being promoted to the Gunners’ senior first team in 2019, Nketiah, who immediately spent six months on loan with Leeds United, has gone on to feature in 117 matches, in all competitions, directly contributing to 35 goals along the way.
Arsenal should not listen to Collymore it seems he wants to be here and there not just more than a week or so he was advising Mudryk to join Chelsea because they have a better project what did he think with be his contribution to Arsenal to hell with his advice please Edu and Arteta should not listen to any advice of his for he is an anti Arsenal and should not be giving any chance at Arsenal let him focus on where they get better project and leave Arsenal alone there people who want to be popular through Arsenal and he is one
Really !!!
Nketia is doing fine thanks to the trust the team put in him