Arsenal willing to offload 24-year-old attacker in January for the right price, two replacements identified: Reports
Arsenal are reportedly willing to let go of second-choice striker Eddie Nketiah in the January transfer window for the right price.
As per Football Transfers, the Gunners could either bring in Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic or turn to sign RB Leipzig attacker Benjamin Sesko to replace Nketiah. So far this season, the Serbia international has bagged five goals from 12 Serie A appearances, while Sesko has scored six goals from 18 matches.
For Nketiah, a move away from the Emirates would certainly benefit him should the north London side bring in a new number nine. He's currently behind former Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus in the pecking order.
Despite being second-choice, the England international has performed reasonably well when called upon. Mikel Arteta has had to turn to Nketiah due to Jesus' fitness concerns, which has seen the Brazilian miss 10 matches across competitions this season.
In the 2023/24 campaign, Nketiah has made 20 appearances across all competitions, bagging five goals and two assists. Since coming up the ranks at Arsenal and breaking into the first team, he's made 151 appearances, scoring 37 goals.
Unfortunately for the academy product, he's been unable to nail down a starting spot in Arteta's XI. Nketiah managed nine starts in the Premier League last season while making the first XI eight times the season before.
Paul Merson believes Eddie Nketiah needs to perform consistently despite Premier League hat-trick for Arsenal
With Gabriel Jesus out due to a hamstring injury, Eddie Nketiah enjoyed a run of Premier League starts in October and November. During this phase, he managed to bag an impressive hat-trick in his side's 5-0 win over Sheffield United.
The first of his finishes saw the striker manage the perfect first touch to set up the shot from close range and score (20'). Nketiah then struck a poacher's finish (50') from a corner situation before unleashing a ferocious attempt from outside the boss for his third (58').
Claiming that the striker needs to perform similarly against the big teams, Paul Merson wrote on Sky Sports (via The Boot Room):
"I didn’t expect him to get a hat-trick, but you have to expect him to score against Sheffield United.he challenge for Nketiah now is to do that consistently against teams in the top six. That’s why you play at Arsenal. You play at Arsenal for the big moments and the big games."
Nketiah failed to find the net in the Gunners' wins against Manchester United (3-1 on September 3) and Manchester City (1-0, October 8) from earlier in the season. He started both those aforementioned matches and the 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur without getting on the scoresheet (September 24).