Leeds United fans could be set to see a familiar face lining up for Premier League table toppers Arsenal this weekend. Eddie Nketiah hasn’t featured at Elland Road since his loan spell during the Whites’ promotion season, but there is a chance he could be chosen to lead the line for Mikel Arteta’s Gunners on Sunday.
Arsenal are in Europa League action on Thursday night as they travel to Norway to face Bodo/Glimt on matchday four of the competition, but star striker Gabriel Jesus missed training in the build-up to that game. The reason behind his absence is unclear, but Jesus did appear to pick up a head injury last weekend against Liverpool and it remains to be seen whether he’ll be fit enough to take on Leeds on Sunday.
Arteta has plenty of attacking options at his disposal, but it seems Nketiah would be the next cab off the rank to start on Sunday if the Brazilian were to be ruled out for whatever reason. If he were to get the nod, it would be the 23-year-old’s first outing in West Yorkshire since his stint as a Leeds player back in 2019-20 under Marcelo Bielsa.
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He has featured against the Whites on two occasions since leaving, so facing up against his former club will be nothing new. In fact, he has even scored against the Whites, with his two first-half goals being the difference last season at the Emirates Stadium.
He refrained from celebrating after picking the ball off the toe of Illan Meslier for his first, but he couldn’t help himself five minutes later as he turned home his second of the game back in May. Nketiah has spoken fondly of his time at Elland Road, but there is no doubt that he would relish the opportunity to bag his first Premier League goal of the season this weekend, regardless of opposition.
After joining Bielsa’s ranks in time to make a goal-scoring debut in an EFL Cup win over Salford City, Nketiah went on to score five goals in 19 appearances in all competitions for the Whites before being called back to north London in January.
"There was no fallout with the manager or anyone else," he told the Athletic back in 2020. “I had a wonderful time there and met a lot of lovely people. It was nice to feel my contributions were thought of.
"I sent them all congratulations when they came up. It is so good to see them back in the Premier League."
He added: “There’s no doubt I would have liked to have played more minutes. There’s no hiding that, but at the same time, I’m pleased with what I managed to do.
“To be in a testing environment like that, in an aggressive, energetic team that plays in the right way, was really good for me. It gave me a different mentality coming back to Arsenal. And Leeds as a whole is a great club, with that massive, passionate fanbase who eat, sleep, breathe football.”
Nketiah penned a new contract with Arsenal over the summer and if given the nod this weekend, he’ll be aiming to make an impact and bag the goals Arteta’s side need to stay at the Premier League summit.
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