Arsenal: 3 semi-meaningless takeaways from Charlton friendly

Arsenal, Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Arsenal, Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Arsenal, Eddie Nketiah
Arsenal, Eddie Nketiah (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images) /

2. Nketiah scores goals

Those that can score goals will do so in any environment. They do so in any league, playing for any team, converting all types of chances. There is a knack, a clinical streak, an innate and indescribable quality. Eddie Nketiah has it.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

On this occasion, the young striker scored a second-half hat-trick. Two of the goals looked simple: a Dani Ceballos freekick was converted at the far post with  an easy finish; his final goal was a cushioned header from Joe Willock’s cross after losing his marker.

His second goal was more difficult. Darting in behind, he collected Sokratis’ chipped pass and rolled a calm finish into the bottom corner. But for all of these, irrespective of how easy the finish may have seemed, the movement to create the chance for himself was excellent, understanding where the chance might fall.

This is the crucial skill that Nketiah possesses that all the great goalscorers have. His off-ball movement is sensational, and it means that he gets into excellent positions time and time again. He even missed a close-range header that was well saved. Nketiah creates chances for himself because of his movement. Because of that, he will always score goals, and this was simply another example.