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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta insists he wants Tuesday’s EFL Cup hat-trick hero Eddie Nketiah to stay with the club amid his contract stand-off.
Nketiah is believed to be frustrated by a lack of opportunities at Arsenal, with Tuesday’s cup quarter-final appearance in Arsenal’s 5-1 win over Sunderland marking only his sixth this season in all competitions.
The 22-year-old’s current deal expires at the end of this season and he may leave on a free transfer after turning down a new contract offer earlier this month.
“I tell you every day that we want to keep Eddie,” Arteta said at the post-game news conference. “We see how he trains, that’s what he does every day, he works so hard and puts the ball in the net every session.
“I am really delighted with him. Every time we have needed him he has always responded.”
He added: “We are trying [to re-sign him]. It’s not about anything else but minutes. He wants gametime, he wants to be on that field and that is the only reason to say, ‘Can I do it here?’ That’s the question. We all want him to stay.”
Arteta has only used Nketiah three times in the Premier League this season, off the bench on all three occasions.
“The way we planned the squad and the way his situation looked in the window, he had a lot of options to go and we thought that was probably the best way to go,” Arteta added.
“But the way we assembled the squad the situation changed and he decided to stay and it was hard to found minutes for him. But he’s finding the space right now and is using his minutes really well.”
The Gunners boss admitted Nketiah’s treble on Tuesday would boost his case for more minutes in the league.
“Recently he’s played more minutes than in the past and we’re going to need him and he’s going to play more minutes,” the Spaniard said.
Arteta also labelled Charlie Patino’s debut goal as a “beautiful moment” and heaped praise on Nicolas Pepe after a bright display against the Black Cats, having only been used 11 times this season.
Pepe scored Arsenal’s second goal and set up their last two, including producing some wizardry down the right flank to tee up Nketiah’s classy backheel finish.
“It is hard for everyone who doesn’t play,” Arteta said about Pepe. “What they have to do is when they have the minutes, show on the pitch that they can do it and they are ready when the team needs him.”
