Arsenal: Deciphering the Eddie Nketiah loan dilemma

Arsenal are considering sending Eddie Nketiah out on loan this season to aid with his development. The dilemma is a great one, with solid reasons on either side of the equation.

The most difficult period of a player’s career translating from a star young prospect to becoming a key contributor in the first team. And for the current Arsenal squad, with the many young players that are breaking out of the academy and into the first team, this crucial period is looming for many.

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One of those players is Eddie Nketiah, a 20-year-old centre-forward who joint-led the team in pre-season goals this summer. Nketiah has been a starlet of the youth team for some time now, often heralded as a future starter for the Gunners. However, he has two rather wonderful centre-forwards blocking out his path to start at present.

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As a result, this has led to a rather clear and difficult dilemma that Unai Emery and the club must solve: do you loan out Nketiah in the hope that he is given a starting role somewhere to develop as a key player, but then cede the personal investment in his development to another coaching set-up, as well as risk depth at the centre-forward position, or do you keep him at the club, tailor his training to the way you want but recognise that his first-team opportunities might be limited?

It is not an easy decision to make, in part because one injury could both open up a clear path to him being the starter at Arsenal and put the team in a spot of bother after Danny Welbeck was allowed to walk out the door after his contract expired earlier in the summer.

According to present reports, Bristol City are very keen on bringing Nketiah in for a year. They have chased the striker all summer, but the Gunners were unsure what they wanted for the betterment of his career. With just four days remaining of the transfer window, a decision must now be made, and Bristol City, along with Swansea City, also of the Championship, are back in the fold.

And the landing spot should play a major part in determining whether a loan is the right move or not. Everyone would agree that sending Nketiah to sit on the bench of another team helps no one. If he is to be loaned out, not only must it be to a team where he will start every week as long as he is fit and playing well, but it must also be under a manager who will actually develop his game — not Tony Pulis with Serge Gnabry, for instance.

As a result, there are whole lot of moving parts to this potential deal. The depth of the Arsenal squad, the direct investment they can offer to Nketiah, and, of course, the senior minutes he is provided with in what could be a career-defining season.

Like with all things, hindsight will dictate whether a loan or not is the right move. But in the next few days, Emery must make this decision without hindsight. This really is quite the dilemma.