Arsenal: Eddie Nketiah not the first to dazzle in the preseason

Arsenal have another young striker dazzling in the preseason, but he isn’t the first. Something needs to be done to set him apart from the rest.

Arsenal fans are getting treated to the razzle-dazzle of Eddie Nketiah, scoring his little face off all preseason long. He’s been a joy to watch, we’ve seen some spectacular moves, and he’s doing more than just scoring, which is perhaps the best part of all.

But forgive me for not losing my mind over this. Granted, I’ve lost my mind over Nketiah in previous situations. The amount of goals he scored in our youth set-up is just stupid. He scored everywhere he went. That is, until he made his appearances in the first team, at which point, aside from saving our arses (temporarily) against Norwich City, he’s struggled to find the back of the net.

This preseason though, it’s special. No doubt. But so too was the preseason where Yaya Sanogo pounded home a handful of goals. So too was the preseason(s) that Chuba Akpom flourished in, showcasing what we had to look forward to.

Obviously Sanogo and Akpom aren’t with the club anymore. They faded away, glorious preseason and all. And for my part, I want to explore what makes Eddie Nketiah any different than them.

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For starters, there is far more investment in the youth system now. Unai Emery is clearly putting a focus on promoting youngsters, and Nketiah is among the handful or so that are in that mix. Not to mention Emery challenging Nketiah to set himself apart this season and challenge for first team football.

That’s honestly the biggest difference. Unai Emery. He’s willing to give whoever is playing well a chance to thrive. Arsene Wenger had his favorites and stuck to them. Whether that’s why Akpom inevitably failed or not, it’s hard to say. Though I doubt Emery could have saved Sanogo’s career.

Still, you can’t ignore the parallels. Nketiah has to follow up on this preseason of excellence with first team excellence when it actually matters. He has to make a dent this year, otherwise we’re just going to go into another preseason, he’s going to do it all again, and it will be Akpom 2.0.

Finishing on a positive note, Nketiah is doing far more than scoring goals, and that’s the best part of this whole ordeal. It’s exciting to watch him fitting in with the regular first-teamers. Now let’s hope he’s the trend breaker.