Eddie Nketiah

The Ghanaian-origin striker scored a brace in Arsenal's 3-2 win over Manchester United in an English Premier League match on Sunday.

What a goal that was and what a player he was as well. I was in the crowd that day and that’s the game that has stayed with me. The youngster scored his maiden goal for the senior side in an EFL Cup match against Norwich City and has scored a total of 66 goals in 157 club appearances for Arsenal in his career. Obviously, as a kid all you are playing football and going to school and at school you are known as the kid that plays for Chelsea. The guys who can understand that if they give the ball somewhere and they can get it back and know where to get it back, the quality of reception is a very important quality. Last year, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry while speaking with Amazon Prime had shared his early memories of Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah and the fact that not many know that the 23-year-old Ghanaian-origin English footballer had started his days training at the Chelsea Academy.

Eddie Nketiah's winner against Manchester United was the culmination of a long period of hard work and frustration for the young striker, ...

The Arsenal manager was then asked to reflect upon why he so wanted to hand Nketiah a new contract in the summer. We were hoping that he could do that because of the way he is, his mentality, and how his qualities fit in the team,” he admitted. [Manchester City](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/manchester-city-fc) and immediately became first-choice striker in Arteta’s 4-3-3 formation, with Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on the wings. In June, he made the call, putting pen to a new long-term deal and taking Thierry Henry’s fabled No14 shirt in the process. Nketiah had a decision to make: he was out of contract and could leave Arsenal on a free transfer. [Chelsea](https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/chelsea-fc), who had scouted him as a youngster when he was playing for Hillyfielders in south-east London. Finally, opportunity would come knocking in the back end of the 2021/22 season, with Arteta intent on overhauling his squad. Nevertheless, in the summer of 2019, a loan was arranged, with Nketiah sent to Championship side Leeds. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette were established as the first-choice strikers, meaning he had to be content with a back-up role and cup games. "Eddie Nketiah is a striker who has a nose for the goal, but he’s not only a goal-getter – and that’s what is interesting with him,” Wenger told beINSPORTS in 2017. He has seized on the opportunity provided by Gabriel Jesus’ injury to prove himself as a top-quality striker capable of leading the line for an excellent team. The 23-year-old has been forced to fight hard for status and recognition at Arsenal.

IF Arsenal do win the Premier League title this season - and such talk is warranted given they're on track to achieve 100 points- then Eddie Nketiah (

An 18-point haul at the expense of David De Gea (£3.8m) and company means Nketiah has banked 49 points in the space of six games since the restart. At the time of writing, Nketiah features in just 2.1% of teams - the slim of minority of gaffers who recruited him in the wake of Jesus' injury have been handsomely rewarded. A prolific scorer at youth level for England, his prowess in the penalty area has rarely been doubted but there were question marks over his ability to link up with Bukayo Saka (£4.1m), Martin Odegaard (£3.6m) and Gabriel Martinelli (£3.6m) in the same effortless manner as Jesus. In an age of false nines, Nketiah is a striker in the mould of a classic poacher. While limited in regards to some technical aspects of the game compared to Jesus, Nketiah has razor-sharp instincts when inside the opposition's box. IF Arsenal do win the Premier League title this season - and such talk is warranted given they're on track to achieve 100 points - then Eddie Nketiah (£3.2m) will deserve his fair share of the plaudits.