Arsenal: 3 outcomes for Eddie Nketiah’s future analysed

On the one hand the current season is going precisely how Arsenal wanted it to: they’re improved as a unit and are firmly in the hunt for a top four place.

Conversely, almost nothing has gone to plan. It’s a peculiar one.

Looking back at the recent victory over Manchester United, Arsenal sent a team out against their long-running rivals that contained Cedric Soares at right-back, Nuno Tavares at left-back, Mohamed Elneny in midfield, and Eddie Nketiah in attack. That wasn’t the plan.

Nor was losing the first three games of the season, nor was going through the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saga, nor was bringing nobody in during the winter window, and nor was suffering a dangerous bout of injuries.

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The 3 outcomes for Eddie Nketiah’s future at Arsenal after inspired form has helped the Gunners’ pursuit of a Premier League top four place

But football works in mysterious ways. As a club and coaching staff you have to overcome the uncertainties and unexpected outcomes and find ways to navigate around them. One of those has resulted in Nketiah leading the line for the club over the past four games.

Coming into the team when Alexandre Lacazette fell ill, Arsenal did not set out their plans for 2021/22 with them fighting for a Champions League place with their out-of-contract academy player starting at centre-forward. They will arguably be wishing they had done so sooner, mind you.

Nketiah has been terrific over the past two weeks. His performances against Southampton, Chelsea, Manchester United and West Ham have been a breath of surprisingly fresh air. Few, if any, saw him reaching the level he has, which makes his situation at Arsenal a topic of fierce debate.

Has he earned himself a new deal at the club? Should previously failed efforts to keep hold of him be ramped up a gear with the promise of regular football? Will he still leave? Etc, etc.

It’s an interesting scenario facing him and the club, with three possible outcomes.

1. Eddie Nketiah Leaves as a Free Agent

‘Free agent’. Two cursed words at this football club that have become far too frequently uttered when it comes to players on the books.

Letting players run down their deals was replaced with paying players to rip them up sooner, and with Nketiah there appears to another scenario where the Gunners will lose someone for nothing. Well, apart from a potential tribunal fee, but that could be pittance.

As it stands Nketiah will leave the club at the end of his contract. Having turned down multiple offers to stay, his representatives have been in regular dialogue with clubs across France and Germany, where there is strong interest in his signature.

There will also be options on the table closer to home. Crystal Palace have a long-standing interest with Odsonne Edouard failing to inspire as the £20m summer signing has completed 90 minutes just five times in the Premier League this season.

Over the past four games Nketiah has demonstrated his capacity to play at the top level. There needs to be more longevity, of course, but there are few sides in this division that won’t be eyeing the free transfer of a 22-year-old striker with Premier League experience who is the all-time top scorer for the England Under-21 side. If he does go, there are two slots in the Arsenal squad waiting to be filled.

What if he doesn’t, though?

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