Arsenal: Eddie Nketiah, this is your chance

After being withdrawn from his loan spell at Leeds United earlier this month, Eddie Nketiah is now set to stay at Arsenal instead of being loaned out again. This is his chance to forge a regular role for himself.

In the summer of 2017, Arsenal did what they had not done in four years. They broke their transfer record. Alexandre Lacazette arrived in a £47 million deal from Lyon as the eventual replacement for and upgrade on Olivier Giroud.

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Then, six months later, they did it again, this time adding Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, another sharp, pacy, goalscoring centre-forward, for £52 million. In the two years since, Lacazette and Aubameyang have dominated the centre-forward position at the Emirates. Aubameyang is the club’s top goalscorer by a distance, while Lacazette was named the 2018/19 Player of the Season.

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The dual additions of Lacazette and Aubameyang left little room for another striker in the squad. Giroud was sold in the January window that Aubameyang arrived in, Danny Welbeck departed at the end of his contract after struggling with yet more injury problems, while Lacazette and Aubameyang played almost every game they were available for, and they were available for most — Lacazette suffered ankle and knee problems briefly, but neither for extended periods.

This left young, burgeoning striker Eddie Nketiah on the outside. The teenager had impressed with his goalscoring knack for the youth teams and brief introductions from off the bench. There was plenty of hope that he could one day develop into Arsenal’s long-term striking option.

But Lacazette and Aubameyang are elite strikers. They are simply a different calibre of player to the bright, exciting, but extremely raw Nketiah. As a result, playing time was limited for the teenager.

In the summer, Nketiah was loaned out to Leeds United, the club believing that they needed to find a team where he would be given regular game time to aid his development. Leeds United was meant to be that team, but after six months in which he made just two Championship matches, Arsenal recalled him, unhappy with his limited opportunities.

They did that with the intention of re-loaning him out to another team. Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday were interested in bringing Nketiah in. There were offers on the table to move him to a different Championship team in the hope of finding him some regular starts. But new head coach Mikel Arteta put his foot down. After impressing in training over the past week, Nketiah will now stay in north London.

Lacazette’s poor scoring form and Aubameyang’s three-match suspension likely contributed to this decision, even if Arteta will claim they did not, but given Arsenal’s injury crisis and a lack of other options, Nketiah will have chances to play. Reiss Nelson has started three of Arteta’s five games in charge thus far, Gabriel Martinelli is also establishing himself in the offensive rotation. Arteta is using the kids, and they are benefitting because of it.

This, then, is Nketiah’s chance. Ever since Arsenal invested in their strikeforce and left the youngster on the outside looking in, he has been waiting for his opportunity to prove himself. Now he has it. But can he take it?