Eddie Nketiah has already given Mikel Arteta and Arsenal the ideal response to their concerns regarding Gabriel Jesus’s fitness. With little under two weeks, until the Premier League returns, the 26-year-old is still dealing with a knee ailment that kept him out of the lineup for a significant portion of the 2022–23 season.
Jesus was absent from the team due to a knee problem that will be looked at, the club announced ahead of Arsenal’s Emirates Cup match against AS Monaco. Nketiah was selected to start in his place, and Declan Rice, who missed the 5-3 preseason victory over Barcelona due to a minor injury, also made his comeback.
Last season, Nketiah was entrusted with recapturing Jesus’s influence throughout the three months that he was in the hospital. Nketiah, a more natural striker, altered the way Arteta’s team played, with Gabriel Martinelli finding it harder to have the same influence after the World Cup compared to his performances in Qatar before the event.
Despite having his own injury issues, Nketiah performed a good job filling in for Jesus as the backup striker, scoring goals when they mattered most. Jesus was reintegrated into the club in March. Leandro Trossard was then used as a false nine occasionally as a result, which may be another solution to Arteta’s Jesus dilemma, but Nketiah reminded the Arsenal manager emphatically.
Just before halftime, Nketiah wonderfully met Martinelli’s corner on the volley to tie the score with the Gunners behind Monaco by a goal. Nketiah was also chosen by Arteta to lead the team in the match, leaving Martin Odegaard on the sidelines.
Although there had been rumors that West Ham was interested in signing Nketiah, it is more likely that Folarin Balogun will be the striker who leaves.
