Over the years, Arsenal might have had problems at the back but seem to always be blessed going forward.
The Gunners have produced arguably some of the best forwards that English football has witnessed.
From the likes of Ian Wright to Dennis Bergkamp to Thierry Henry and Robin Van Persie, they have indeed been blessed with some great players.
The current holders for that esteemed title are the duo of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.
The pair have formed a formidable partnership over time and were particularly immense last season.
The Frenchman was named the Gunners’ player of the season while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the club’s top goalscorer and the joint Golden Boot winner in the Premier League with 22 goals.
It is the dream strike partnership which has Arsenal fans excited – but a talented starlet is convinced he has what it takes to add even more to their play and may potentially be the future heir to the Gunners centre forward role.
Without any doubt, that young prospect is Eddie Nketiah.
While Aubameyang and Lacazette earned rave reviews leading the line for Unai Emery’s Arsenal last term, 20-year-old Eddie Nketiah insists he can improve the Gunners attack still further.
However, with both experienced strikers still at the club it’s best to say Nketiah’s words should be taken into a future context.
The 20-year-old is set to spend the season on loan at Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa’s guidance and in less than 150 minutes of football with his current spell, he is already becoming a fan favourite at Elland road.
Eddie Nketiah has now played 138 minutes of EFL Cup football in his senior career for Arsenal and Leeds and scored three goals.
A natural goalscorer. pic.twitter.com/vb6sELdg8n
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 13, 2019
To make things better, the young striker got a Championship goal in less than 15 minutes coming in as a substitute. At 20, he is already showing attributes of a player with proper impact.
With Aubameyang aged 30 and Lacazette at 28, it’s safe to say the pair don’t have much time left to play top football. By that time hoping the young Nketiah would have come of age, experience and stature.
Arsenal are renowned for playing with a lone-striker upfront and that has seen Aubameyang deployed as a left-winger more recently, not much might be made of it but a closer look gives the factual point that two top strikers are a luxury at the club and it’s only a matter of time before the club might cash in on one of them.
With Aubameyang at 30, it looks more likely he could be the one to leave eventually, leaving room for Nketiah to come back and be top deputy to Alexandre Lacazette.
He might be 20 but he is already highly rated and has a potentially bright future.
In pre-season, he was the Arsenal’s top scorer with four goals and that was a glimmer of hope of what to expect from him in the future.
Nketiah is known for his pace and finishing ability and his style has been compared to former Arsenal striker Ian Wright and the closest person with that at the club is the Frenchman Lacazette.
Strikers may be hard to come by in this current transfer market, but Arsenal already seem to have an able replacement for the future.
Conclusion
It might be too early to make comparisons but Nketiah does look like he has all the traits to be a top striker in the future.
The club has made the right choice in loaning him out for more regular football so he can develop properly and mature with time.
The time will come when Arsenal will have to replace Alexandre Lacazette upfront and the Gunners might not need to search far or break the bank cause his replacement is already internal in the name of Nketiah.
It will be interesting to watch his progression at Leeds and see if he has what it takes to live up to the expectations around him.
