Eddie Nketiah is one of those guys that has been around the block for quite a while, despite being so young. However, it’s fair to say that he has served Arsenal to the best of his ability, even though that ‘ability’ leaves a lot to be desired. Nketiah has made 168 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 38 goals, and he has never really gotten an extended run in the side, but managed to get a good amount of games in the tail end of the 2021/22 sealson, when Mikel Arteta axed Alexandre Lacazette from the team.
Nketiah was on the verge of leaving the club on a Bosman, but he signed a contract extension to keep him in the club for the foreseeable future. Nketiah must have thought that his goalscoring exploits at the end of their campaign would have earned him a chance to stake his claim as the club’s alpha dog in attack, and the departures of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lacazette certainly helped his cause, but Arsenal signed Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City and Nketiah returned to his deputy role.
When Jesus suffered that long term injury in the FIFA World Cup that sidelined him for the best part of five months, Nketiah got a decent run out, but he began to share minutes with new signing, Leandro Trossard, and eventually, Jesus returned to relegate him back to the bench. Jesus’ injury issues have continued this season, but a certain Kai Havertz has been favored ahead of Nketiah yet again, and he has been a peripheral figure this season, even though he had his moment in the Sun with that scintillating hat-trick in the 5-0 decimation of Sheffield United.
Nketiah was interviewed on Arsenal.com ahead of the much-anticipated North London derby, and he shared his thoughts around his limited game time, but reiterated that the team comes first,
“Obviously it’s tough for different players getting different minutes but at this stage of the season it’s just about putting your own personal preferences and ego to the side and doing whatever is best for the team.
“If you get one minute to come on, you’ve got to give your best minute. If you get ten minutes or you start, everyone’s got to be ready. We’re all going to be needed and have our moment to contribute.”
Despite his obvious disappointment of not featuring consistently, Nketiah still looks on the bright side of things,
“I think I’ve hit some really good highs. When I was playing regularly I was really happy with my performances. Going to two England camps, making my debut, getting my first Premier League hat-trick and Champions League goal, I’ve achieved quite a few landmarks which I’ve set out.”
“Of course in the second half of the season I haven’t started as many games as I’d like, but these things happen and the team has been doing well so I’ve had to play a different role.”
“That’s football and things change really quickly, but I think it’s a season to still be proud of and I’m only going to get better. All the experiences I’ve had this season are going to help me going forward.”
With Arsenal challenging for their first Premier League title in 20 years, Nketiah of all people, an Arsenal fan at heart, understands the importance of Mikel Arteta going to each game with essentially his strongest lineup, and in all honesty, he’s not part of it. But he’s a part of the machine and will get opportunities to contribute from the dugout in the course of the remaining games.
Despite his limited playing time, it’s good to see that Nketiah values team above self.
Sayonara.
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The post Eddie Nketiah: Limited Game Time, Team Above Self appeared first on Gooner Daily.
