Arsenal: Eddie Nketiah the only shining star

Eddie Nketiah came on to score two goals in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Norwich City on Tuesday night. The 18-year-old, though, was the only shining star from a dull and dreary night of football.

What a way to introduce yourself. After 84 drab and dreary minutes of aimless, blunt football, Arsene Wenger took one last roll of the dice. It could be a roll that sets up yet another young Arsenal player for the rest of his career.

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15 seconds after coming on the pitch, Eddie Nketiah had poked home Francis Coquelin’s flicked header from a corner to breathe life into what had been a limp and lethargic performance up until that point. It was a real poacher’s finish.

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And then, in eerily similar circumstances, from another whipped in Theo Walcott corner, Nketiah, standing just outside the six-yard box, slightly deeper than the halfway mark of the goal, darted across his defender, muscled his way to meet the ball, and powered a header past the helpless Angus Gunn who could do nothing with such a speedy, close-range effort.

The two goals won the game. Arsenal were able to see themselves through the closing stages and into the quarter-finals of what is a very winnable Carabao Cup. And after the game, Wenger heralded the immediate and surprising impact of Nketiah, stating that he hoped the 18-year-old will have a long and prosperous North London career:

"“I brought him on because we needed to score goals and he can score goals. I knew he had quality, but when the team need you and you deliver, that’s another quality you don’t know about until you go on to the pitch. I’m impressed to think that he was not even conceived when I was already here! But it’s good as well because life gives chances to young people. Hopefully, he’ll have a long career at Arsenal <…> I can’t remember a young player having such an impact in a game like that. Until he came on we lacked ideas and creativity.”"

Now, I do not want to slight Nketiah in any way. He completely changed the game. And it was more than his two goals. He very nearly had a hat-trick with several shots coming close after neat touches, driving runs, and intelligent, spatial awareness. But from a general perspective, this was not an enjoyable night as an Arsenal fan.

For much of the game, they played in stark contrast to the blistering manner in which they carved open Everton at the weekend. They were slow and sloppy. Passes were misplaced, their movement was non-existent, and Norwich, for the most part, were comfortable, deserving of their slender one-goal lead.

The best chances that the Gunners were able to engineer up until Nketiah came on were from set pieces, namely, a Rob Holding header from a corner in the first half that was brilliantly tipped over the bar. And even then, the two goals that Arsenal did score also came from corners.

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Nketiah should be praised and celebrated for his cameo. It is always wonderful to see young players burst onto the scene with performances like his. But it shouldn’t mask the problems of the first 84 minutes. This was a boring and lifeless game of football, in large part, because of Arsenal’s inability to create. If it remains, it will become a problem.