Eddie Nketiah shut down claims made by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink during the first half against Chelsea this evening. Speaking on Sky Sports as a guest prior to the match, the ex-Blues forward and current Burton Albion manager stressed that he doesn't believe the 22-year-old "does enough".
"He is playing for a big club, I know him quite well. He has been at Leeds, didn’t quite work out for him but it is a big ask for the boy," he said. "It is going to be hard for him to get the ball in the right areas because he is not strong enough, he comes alive in that box so he needs that service to come into the box."
Shortly after, Hasselbaink explained why he would have preferred to see Gabriel Martinelli start against his former side, reiterating his claim that Nketiah offers limited movement in certain areas.
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"I would have preferred him to start, but for me, Nketiah does not do enough outside the box to get on the ball and move and be part of the other ten. He only comes alive in the box, and in the box for Arsenal at the moment, not enough is happening."
However, Nketiah ensured his first-half performance instantly put Hasselbaink's views to bed after scoring his first Premier League goal of the season and Arsenal's opener on the night. Andreas Christensen's pass to goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was too short and Nketiah immediately latched onto it outside the 18-yard box before calmly slotting the ball into the bottom corner.
In fact, the striker's movement was the opposite of how Hasselbaink explained it, often making dangerous runs, holding up play and having a pop at goal from range.
