Arsenal‘s manager, Mikel Arteta reportedly confessed that despite Eddie Nketiah’s heroics performance in training, he “has not been fair” to him by not giving him more playing time.
On Wednesday night, the Spanish manager was obliged to make the surprising revelation after Eddie scored twice in a rare start to stun Chelsea in the English Premier League battle.
The performance of the kid, who announced this week that he is considering switching nationalities from England to play for Ghana, has raised concerns among the Gunners’ hierarchy that he will not renew his contract.
The 22-year-old, who is out of contract this summer, scored two excellent goals in only his second Premier League appearance of the season on Wednesday night at Stamford Bridge.
This week, Nketiah publicly aired his dissatisfaction with his lack of game time at Arsenal and questioned his future at the club, prompting Arteta to concede that he has not been fair to the teenager of Ghanaian heritage.
“I should have played him more,” he says.
“I told him I hadn’t been fair.” Arsenal has been in talks with Nketiah about a new contract, but the striker has requested assurances of regular playing time before committing to the Gunners.
“There have been talks and offers of a new contract, but my goal right now is to play football and play frequently,” he told The Beautiful Game.
“It is my objective, and that is what I hope to achieve.”
The Arsenal forward has only made seven starts this season, with his Premier League debut coming against Southampton on Saturday.
Despite Alexandre Lacazette’s January departure to Barcelona, Nketiah was behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in the pecking order.
The coach continued to overlook him until the absence of Frenchman Alexandre Lazazette due to Covid compelled Arteta to give Nketiah a chance to play due to the circumstances that led to the two goals last night.
“What Eddie has done tonight is the result of what he has been doing for the last ten months and no one has noticed,” Arteta continued.
“We’ve also had to deal with other concerns, which hasn’t been simple.” But he deserved everything that happened to him.
The former England Under-21 forward has been in a similar scenario with the England national team, who have also overlooked him for a call-up, forcing the teenager to consider Ghana.
Nketiah has been overlooked for call-ups to the England senior team despite being the record England U21 goalscorer.
He is qualified to play for Ghana through his family because he has yet to be capped at the senior level for the Three Lions.
The London-born striker has represented England at both the U17 and U21 levels, scoring 16 goals for the latter.
The youngster was born in the United Kingdom, but his parents are not, which allows him to play in another country.
Nketiah appears to be eyeing an opportunity to play for Ghana, as he is more likely to see regular action for the Black Stars.
