Eddie Nketiah has revealed how close he came to leaving Arsenal this summer. The England under-21 international signed a contract extension to commit his long-term future to the Gunners last month but was only weeks away from seeing his previous deal expire.
It had appeared for a long time that the 23-year-old was on his way out of the club as he sought to earn himself some regular game time. However, following an impressive end to the season in which he scored five goals in eight appearances, Nketiah was convinced to stay in North London.
He is now expected to be an important part of Mikel Arteta's plans this season and has continued his impressive goalscoring run with four goals in four matches across Arsenal's preseason. Things could have been very different however, as Nketiah admits he considered plenty of offers from elsewhere before signing his new deal.
READ MORE: Arsenal already have Youri Tielemans alternative after Arteta admission and it's not Zinchenko
"When you’re at that stage of your contract you consider all your options and just weigh it all up," he said after Arsenal's 3-1 win over Orlando City. "I wanted to wait until the end of the season and of course, I had a lot of offers. I sat down with my team and with the manager and my family and we felt like Arsenal was the best place. I’m really happy with my decision and I’m looking forward to the future.
"When you get down to that stage of your contract you’re obviously going to have options and I sat down with my agent and family to go through them all. But Arsenal is a great club for me. I support the club and it’s a great project to be part of. I hope I can contribute to that in the future."
Since committing his future to Arsenal Nketiah has already struck up a decent partnership with new signing Gabriel Jesus. The pair have played as a more typical front two in the game against Nurnberg, while Jesus was a more orthodox nine, with Nketiah on the left in the second half of Wednesday night's match with Orlando City. Mikel Arteta has admitted he wants the two to play together regularly this season, and Nketiah is equally happy to have formed such a strong bond with his new teammate.
"Obviously I like to play in the middle but I can play on the left as well and enjoy that," he told football.london after Wednesday night's game. "I’m just happy to be on the pitch in areas where I know I can be a threat and be dangerous. And when Gabby came on in the second half it was good to link up with him.
"He’s shown at the club he was at before what a good player he is. He adds that energy up front, the same as myself, with that pressing. That’s the style the manager wants to play. So whoever is playing up there has to make sure we add that energy. Not just us, the whole team. It’s been good so far but it’s only pre-season and we’re going to get better. We have a lot of time to improve."
READ NEXT:
Every word Mikel Arteta said on Zinchenko's arrival, Torreira and Arsenal transfer ambitions
Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: All the latest updates and rumours from the Emirates Stadium
Full Arsenal Premier League fixture list for 2022/23
Mikel Arteta reveals next transfer priority as Stan Kroenke meets with Arsenal hierarchy
What Gabriel Jesus did with former Chelsea star after Arsenal 3-1 win over Orlando City
