Arsenal: What does Lucas Perez return mean for Eddie Nketiah?

Arsenal have a new manager, and that means that everyone has a new man to impress. So where does that leave Eddie Nketiah among the other option?

Arsenal’s striking corps has gone from the weakest point of the team to the strongest. They are stacked up front. So much so that with Lucas Perez returning, people are wondering how they can even fit him in.

Yet this is a guy who proved himself in what little capacity he could as he scored goals and contributed to the team effort superbly in his limited appearances. He has since faltered in his post-Arsenal endeavors, but as he is supposedly on his way back, the path is open for a return to something special.

Which is great and grand and should be welcomed. But then we have to look at the adverse effects it may have as well. Like, for instance, what happens to Eddie Nketiah?

Nketiah established himself as the premier young talent of this club during the course of the year, and I have no hesitation saying that.

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In his first moments with the team, he scored two goals to spare them from an embarrassing fate against Norwich City in the League Cup and, beyond that, he proved himself to be the most energetic player on the pitch any time he touched it.

He pressed opposing defenses, put himself in dangerous positions and showed no hesitation when called on to fire at goal.

In short, he was everything you’d want a striker to be. He just didn’t have the opportunities to make more of it. But then you can look at what he did with the U23s and see that, no surprises here, he scored tons of goals, just like he has done at every single level he has ever played at.

In just 13 appearances in Premier League 2, accounting for just over 1,000 minutes, he scored 12 goals and added two assists.

But this is nothing new for him. It’s what he’s always done. So when does he get to prove himself more at the senior level?

That is the tough question. Depending on Danny Welbeck‘s fate, and also depending on Lucas Perez’s, Nketiah can find his way remarkably open or suffocatingly blocked. To the point that a loan or another year at the U23 level would be the only option.

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Which isn’t fair. Nketiah has earned the right to be in the Premier League. It’s a tough sell, though, because Lucas has too. And so has Welbeck.

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