Amid the recent Gabriel Jesus injury, Eddie Nketiah has provided plenty of hope to Arsenal.
When news broke recently of a Gabriel Jesus injury, Arsenal fans everywhere had the same collective thought – “here we go again”. But it needn’t be this way – Mikel Arteta has proven time and time again why he is the man in charge of the Gunners, and how previous failings within the club have been turned around.
As far as the club is concerned, the show must go on. Of course, Gabriel Jesus’ absence will be felt but it is down to Arteta to bolster his squad and lead his players to believe they are capable of overcoming any milestone.
While a large part of Arsenal’s squad are out in Qatar playing in the FIFA World Cup, the rest of the squad partook in a friendly out in Dubai, to ensure they are prepared for the second half of the season and not missing out on matches.
For a full list of Arsenal players at the World Cup, click here.
They won today, quite convincingly, against Lyon. The most impressive player on the pitch was by far and away Eddie Nketiah. The young Englishman got himself on the score sheet and appeared to play with plenty of confidence.
I would assume that going into the second half of the season, Nketiah will be Arteta’s number one choice in the striker position. While they could go out in January and panic buy, it does not seem like Arteta’s approach. He will remain prudent and resourceful, while always looking closer to home to fix any gaps in his squad.
Nketiah has been on the fringes of the Arsenal first team for some time now, but he has always been second fiddle to some truly magnificent strikers, including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and, of course, Gabriel Jesus.
But now it is Nketiah’s time. The tricky striker who likes to break away from defenders to find a yard of space will look to keep the confidence up. Granted, he has big boots to fill, but if anyone is hungry enough to fill those boots, it is Nketiah.
How do you think Arsenal will fare in the second half of the season?