Eddie Nketiah is the man of the moment at Arsenal after scoring a dramatic late winner against Manchester United.
The Gunners are five points clear at the top of the Premier League, with a game in hand, after Nketiah popped up in the 90th minute to score his second goal of the game and down United in a 3-2 win. His strike nearly took the roof off the Emirates Stadium, who serenaded the striker by singing his name.
Nketiah now has seven goals in his last seven games for Arsenal across all competitions. He has seized on the opportunity provided by Gabriel Jesus’ injury to prove himself as a top-quality striker capable of leading the line for an excellent team.
It has not always been this way. The 23-year-old has been forced to fight hard for status and recognition at Arsenal.
Wenger favourite
Nketiah joined Arsenal in 2015 after being released by Chelsea, who had scouted him as a youngster when he was playing for Hillyfielders in south-east London. The Times reported that Nketiah's height was deemed an issue by the Blues.
“I don’t know what happened at Chelsea,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said at the time. “He has scored goals at youth level and sometimes I don’t know why they let him go.”
Chelsea’s loss turned out to be Arsenal’s gain. He spent two years developing his game in the Arsenal academy, where he scored bucket loads of goals: 15 in 16 games for the under-18s and 28 in 40 for the under-21s.
He made his first-team debut in September 2017 as a late substitute in a 4-2 win over BATE Borisov. That Gunners side also included Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Marcus McGuane.
Nketiah properly announced himself to the public the following month by coming on as an 85th-minute substitute and scoring twice in a 2-1 comeback win over Norwich in the Carabao Cup. Shortly afterwards, Wenger explained his talents – and predicted big things.
"Eddie Nketiah is a striker who has a nose for the goal, but he’s not only a goal-getter – and that’s what is interesting with him,” Wenger told beINSPORTS in 2017. “He has good physical qualities, he can combine with others, he can integrate a collective game at a very high level and, as well, get on the end of things and score in front of goal.
“He has basic exceptional qualities, but after that he has to show that in a consistent way. The next step for him is mental – show me that you’re motivated every day, that you’re hungry to become the player you can become.”
Career stalling
Nketiah’s breakthrough against Norwich came when he was just 18 years old. He was already working his way through the England age groups. But it wasn’t really happening with Arsenal.
His next goal for the first team didn't come until the final day of the 2018/19 season against Burnley – that 565-day gap between strikes came as a frustration to Nketiah, who perhaps fell victim in the wake of Wenger’s departure in May 2018.
Opportunities were harder to come by under Unai Emery and in January 2019 everything was agreed for him to move to Augsburg on loan, only for an injury to Danny Welbeck to see that deal binned. Nevertheless, in the summer of 2019, a loan was arranged, with Nketiah sent to Championship side Leeds.
He played more under Marcelo Bielsa, yet his frustration remained. Speaking in October 2019, Nketiah outlined his thoughts. “I’m just trying to do as much as I can,” he said.
“Obviously I’m not happy, and I’ll never be happy with being on the bench. I want to play. I pride myself on being in the team and I think I’m good enough to be in the team. All I can do really is put in the performances when I come on and try and contribute.”
Nketiah scored five times in 19 games for Leeds altogether before being recalled by Arsenal in January 2020. He scored four goals in the second half of the 2019/20 season for Mikel Arteta, who had taken over in December 2019.
Patience is a virtue
Arteta’s arrival at Arsenal was good news for Nketiah, who played 29 times in the 2020/21 season, scoring six times, but he never really made the big breakthrough, with just four starts in the Premier League. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette were established as the first-choice strikers, meaning he had to be content with a back-up role and cup games.
Bukayo Saka was busy making his mark, but Nketiah, Willock and Nelson had to remain patient for their chances. Finally, opportunity would come knocking in the back end of the 2021/22 season, with Arteta intent on overhauling his squad.
Aubameyang was sold to Barcelona in the January transfer window after one indiscretion too many, while Lacazette followed him out the door in the summer. Nketiah had a decision to make: he was out of contract and could leave Arsenal on a free transfer.
Arteta was clear in his stance. Back in December 2021, he said: "He knows how much I rate him, how much I like him, and I want him to stay at the club."
In June, he made the call, putting pen to a new long-term deal and taking Thierry Henry’s fabled No14 shirt in the process. He was staying and he was determined to show what he could do.
That was made harder when Gabriel Jesus was signed in a £45million transfer from Manchester City and immediately became first-choice striker in Arteta’s 4-3-3 formation, with Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on the wings.
A clip from Arsenal: All or Nothing has been circulating on social media which shows Nketiah’s mentality around his role from the time. The striker is in the canteen chatting with Albert Sambi Lokonga, who says he used to smile a lot because he was playing regularly. Nketiah responds: “So what, my friend? You think you’re the only f***ing guy not playing, my friend? Stop feeling sorry for yourself and f***ing wake up, man.”
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Opportunity taken
Nketiah is no stranger to patience. Finally it has paid off.
Jesus suffered a serious knee injury playing for Brazil at the World Cup in December, in effect handing the baton to Nketiah as the Gunners’ only other centre-forward. He grasped it and has run like mad ever since.
The 23-year-old scored in Arsenal’s first two matches back after the World Cup – wins over Brighton and West Ham – before winning even more plaudits for his performance against Manchester United on Sunday.
Overall, Nketiah’s record for Arsenal appears quite underwhelming: he has 32 goals in 117 games in all competitions. Yet, his role as a perennial substitute clouds the picture. As Opta pointed out after the United game, he now has 18 goals in his last 26 starts for
in all competitions, including 12 goals in his last 13 starts at home. No wonder Roy Keane was comparing him to Gunners legend Ian Wright.
Arteta’s words in his post-match press conference summed up his story arc nicely. “What Eddie is doing is incredible. I cannot say we saw that [coming]. We were hoping that he could do that because of the way he is, his mentality, and how his qualities fit in the team,” he admitted.
The Arsenal manager was then asked to reflect upon why he so wanted to hand Nketiah a new contract in the summer. “The qualities that he has, how much he wants it, how much belief he has to be Arsenal number nine, his desire, his background,” he replied.
“We are with him every single day. He’s a special kid. He’s so loved by everybody at the football club. He’s got a real Arsenal heart and that’s very special. You cannot put that into numbers, but he’s really, really good.”
At the halfway point of the season, Arsenal are on course to win a first Premier League title since 2004. The contributions of Nketiah could be crucial to their chances. He is a back-up striker no more.
