Ex- Arsenal man Emmanuel Petit has advised Mikel Arteta to hand Eddie Nketiah a new contract, despite reports he also wants to sign Tammy Abraham.
Hale End graduate Nketiah is out of contract at the end of the season, and looks set to depart from the Emirates. Gunners boss Arteta has handed the 22-year-old increased game time in recent weeks, which Nketiah has capitalised on.
The forward scored twice to inspire Arsenal to a 2-1 win over Leeds last weekend, backing up a performance that earned him high praise against West Ham that resulted in the same scoreline. Having also scored twice in the massive win over Chelsea last month, Arsenal will no doubt be regretting letting Nketiah near the end of his contract.
Talks are understood to have taken place to extend his stay in north London, with various Premier League sides keeping tabs on the situation. And legendary French midfielder Petit, who spent three years at Highbury, has told the club in no uncertain terms that they must hand him a new deal.
"He has to stay!" Petit told the Metro. "He’s playing with anger. He was asking for more game time, and he’s taken the responsibility on the pitch and scored important goals.
"Nketiah is a young talented player with a big motivation to become a star, which means if he can follow the steps of [Gabriel] Martinelli, [Emile] Smith Rowe and [Bukayo] Saka that would be a very good thing for him and for Arsenal, but I definitely want him to stay at Arsenal."
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Alexandre Lacazette is in the same boat as Nketiah, but his fate seems more certain, with the 30-year-old's six goals in 33 games clearly not persuading Emirates chiefs to change their mind. And Petit admits that he wants to see them sign a replacement who is quick and can press from the front.
"It’s probably the case that Lacazette will leave the club at the end of the season," he added. "But even with Lacazette and Nketiah in the team, Arsenal need a very top striker who can score at least 20 – 25 goals during the season, to compete in the Premier League.
"I want Arsenal to buy a different kind of striker. What Arsenal need desperately up front, and this includes on the wings, is speed players. Don’t be mistaken, modern football is about speed. Everything is speed, the pressing, the playing, everything.
"They need to bring speed up front. Martinelli is a very quick player, Saka as well on the right-hand side but up-front Lacazette is not a speed player and Nketiah can be fast, but they definitely need a different kind of profile of player."
Arsenal have been linked with Roma's in-form target man Abraham, who scored 24 goals in 49 games this season under Jose Mourinho. And Petit admitted that he is a fan of the former Chelsea man, saying: "So which kind of player should they sign? I really like Tammy Abraham.
"What he’s doing at Roma in Italy and if they can bring him back to England he will be back in London with the feeling of revenge, and for me it’s very important to have that extra motivation."
