MY ACCOUNT
Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah believes he will be able to form a threatening strike partnership with Gabriel Jesus, who arrived from Manchester City in the off-season.
Nketiah finished the Premier League season in solid form last term, scoring five times in the Gunners’ final seven games amid speculation over his future at the club.
With his contract expiring at the end of the season, the 23-year-old renewed with the North London club, while Gabriel Jesus joined on a reported £45million transfer from the eventual Premier League champions.
Despite the potential of both fighting for the same spot, Nketiah feels Mikel Arteta could potentially get the best out of them together on the pitch, as witnessed in Wednesday’s 3-1 pre-season win over Orlando City.
“I think we can play together, and I think we’ve shown that,” he said. “Obviously, he’s a great player and it’s nice to play with him.
“Naturally with the kind of strikers we are, we’ve been able to combine quickly. It’s also good that we have a common celebration. I’m enjoying playing with him and hopefully we can continue to link up.
“Obviously, I like to play in the middle but I can play on the left as well and enjoy that. I’m just happy to be on the pitch in areas where I know I can be a threat and be dangerous. When ‘Gabby’ came on in the second half it was good to link up with him.”
Jesus is the highest-profile signing for Arsenal in what has been a busy transfer window, with Fabio Vieira and Marquinhos also joining, and Oleksandr Zinchenko’s signing reportedly imminent.
With the arrivals in mind, the England youth international added Arsenal was ultimately the best place for him to progress his career, despite interest from elsewhere.
“I wanted to wait until the end of the season and of course I had a lot of offers,” Nketiah said. “I sat down with my team and with the manager and my family and we felt like Arsenal was the best place.
“When you get down to that stage of your contract you’re obviously going to have options and I sat down with my agent and family to go through them all.
“But Arsenal is a great club for me. I support the club and it’s a great project to be part of. I hope I can contribute to that in the future.”
