Arsenal: There’s nowhere to hide Eddie Nketiah now

Arsenal’s pending match against FC Vorksla is set up in such a way that there seems to be no possible way that Eddie Nketiah can’t start. About time.

Arsenal were cast into a bit of a problem in the striker department when Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were both held out during international break, just after Danny Welbeck went down with a horrific ankle injury that will see him off the pitch for an extended period of time.

When Bournemouth rolled around, Lacazette was kept out as a precaution and Aubameyang had to take the sole striker role, which, while it ended up working out, was a bit of a mess for the first hour or so.

There is about to be a congested fixture list, with some tough match-ups popping up alongside midweek fixtures, starting with the Spurs this weekend in Unai Emery’s first ever North London Derby.

Needless to say, the more fresh legs we can have in that one, the better. Which may mean doing some serious thinking regarding who starts against Vorskla on Thursday, because anyone that features extensively likely won’t be ready come the weekend.

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This raises the question of who starts at striker. It would normally have been Welbeck, but he is obviously unavailable.

Next in line had been Aubameyang, but that was at a time when Lacazette was starting as striker in the Prem, and Tottenham weren’t at the weekend. He played into stoppage time against Bournemouth in the absence of Lacazette, and is going to be needed at the weekend, so it would be foolish to throw him into the fray now, in a match that should be easy enough to handle.

That all leaves Eddie Nketiah, goal-scorer extraordinaire, and a player who I still find to be one of the most exciting of all the young talent at the club.

Nketiah has not had good fortune finding playing time this year, as he has been buried behind Welbeck, but in the wake of the injury, and in light of the congested fixture list to come, it may be prime time for him to make his play on more minutes via his own ability.

Unai Emery is a manager who respects a young player making an impact. Nketiah has to have seen that by now, meaning that this is finally the opportunity that he has been waiting for. There is no way around it.