3 English sides battle for Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah, including Championship team

Eddie Nketiah is clearly a favourite of Mikel Arteta. After all, Nketiah has made an impressive 146 appearances under Mikel Arteta - A record only beaten by three other players.

It's clear to see why Arteta likes Nketiah so much. As a Hale End graduate, he emobodies the club spirit well and he clearly has a high drive to get into the starting eleven. Time and time again, the Englishman has proven himself when given the chance. Needless to say, he was the best possible option for Arteta last season, when Gabriel Jesus picked up that lengthy injury setback.

However, this season, Nketiah has fallen further down the pecking order. It's not helped by the signing of Kai Havertz, who is the favoured second-choice striker this season. Whenever Jesus is unfit or simply unavailable for selection, it's the German who slots in the centre forward role, whereas last season it would have been Nketiah.

This season, Nketiah has made 10 starts in the Premier League. For context, he made nine starts last season, so is it really that bad? Well, actually, it is.

Nketiah is 24 years old so he would have hoped for a greater boost in his playing time. As he enters the best years of his career, he cannot afford to be rotting away on the bench.

Context is also important - His last start in the Premier League came last year, in 2023. Therefore, Arteta is moving in the direction without Nketiah, as opposed to with him. In 2024, Nketiah has been limited to measly 20 minute appearances.

3 English sides battle for Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah, including Championship side

According to a report from Football Transfers, there are three English clubs who currently queue up to sign Eddie Nketiah. The report states that Championship side Leicester City have joined the race to sign Nketiah, alongside Brentford and Crystal Palace.

Should Leicester win their next game-in-hand, they will return to the top of the Championship with the hopes of securing automatic promotion to the Premier League. They are a big club with, obviously, rich history in the Premier League. Therefore, it would be interesting to see how Nketiah leads their rags (back) to riches story.

As mentioned, Nketiah is a hungry and determined player. This is why he's been in and around the Arsenal first-team for so long, even alongside world-class options. He would make a great starter for another Premier League club but Arsenal fans can't help but thinking the decision to sell him might come back to bite the club in the backside.

Where do you think Eddie Nketiah will play next season?