Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown was full of praise for Eddie Nketiah following his heroics in the Gunners' recent 4-2 win against Chelsea.
The two London giants locked horns at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night in a midweek Premier League clash.
Nketiah, along with his fellow academy graduates Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, ensured Mikel Arteta's side kept their top-four hopes alive.
The 22-year-old, who was formerly on Chelsea's books as a youngster, scored twice against his former employers.
Keown has lavished praise on the young forward following his brace against the Blues. The 55-year-old reckons that the former Leeds United loanee is capable of being successful at the highest level.
In his column for The Daily Mail, Keown wrote:
"I was immensely impressed by Nketiah, who was released by Chelsea at 14 and came back to haunt his old club."
"He looks more than equipped to be successful at this level, and his manager even said afterwards that he hasn't been fair to him in terms of playing time."
Nketiah has scored seven goals in 22 appearances across all competitions this season. However, he only opened his account in the Premier League with the brace against Chelsea.
Nketiah has started only twice in the league and has played just 723 minutes of first-team football across all competitions.
After the game, Arteta admitted that he has not been fair to the forward when it comes to game time.
We can expect the Englishman to play more between now and the end of the season as the Gunners continue their chase for the fourth spot.
Arsenal were brilliant against Chelsea but still have a long way to go
Arsenal's top-four hopes seemed to be fading after three successive defeats against Crystal Palace, Brighton, and Southampton. However, they have returned to winning ways with their fantastic win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The fifth-placed Gunners are now level on points with fourth-placed Spurs and are three points ahead of sixth-placed Manchester United.
Mikel Arteta's side have games against both the teams as well as West Ham United, who still have an outside chance of clinching fourth place.
The race for the final Champions League spot has been really close. With their win against the Blues, Arsenal have proved that they will fight for a top-four finish until the end.
Gunners4ever❤
1
yh... u know, I'm not worried about making top 4 (we would surely get it) the question is does arteta really want to use an u23 team to play the UCL 🤷♂️
That's a tricky one, Tottenham have a slightly easier run-in than us, both teams are serial bottlers and are set to face each other next month so it could go either. Spurs vs Arsenal in May could all-but decide who finishes 4th. Of course we won't play only youngsters in the UCL next season if we get there.. He will just play the best players available to him. We will push for good signings this summer. We better have another excellent summer transfer window better than the last one or else we're back to square one again and our rivals will pull clear of us again. We're already miles behind Liverpool and Manchester City.
xanta
1
Yeah and Lindelöf[Crylaugh]
yh... u know, I'm not worried about making top 4 (we would surely get it) the question is does arteta really want to use an u23 team to play the UCL 🤷♂️
Gunners4ever❤
1
don't worry bro they still have Phil Jones 😉
Yeah and Lindelöf[Crylaugh]
xanta
1
Feeling bad bro, Maguire won't be there to gift us goals against Manchester United. We're losing for sure because now the game will start at 0-0 rather than 2-0 to us😭 Well at least Super Tom is back😍
don't worry bro they still have Phil Jones 😉
Gunners4ever❤
0
how are you boss 🤝
Feeling bad bro, Maguire won't be there to gift us goals against Manchester United. We're losing for sure because now the game will start at 0-0 rather than 2-0 to us😭 Well at least Super Tom is back😍
xanta
1
True bro
how are you boss 🤝
Gunners4ever❤
1
Wahahahaha you do realize both of his goals are down to comedic mistakes... The delusion is unreal
The other striker option we have is Lacazette who can't score even if the opponent's goalkeeper is asleep.
Gunners4ever❤
2
Eddie height is actually ok, my problem with him was his physique (weight) he fall at the slightest contact ( he's improved on that though), and his decision ( earlier...he was a little selfish and had terrible decision making 😑) but generally he's improved a lot
True bro
Atsad
0
Are you serious hahaha, dude both chances were presented to him on a silver plater... And people why arsenal's standards have dropped... Mate raise the standards, nketiah is a relegation team striker
Lukaku would still mess up with those chances... All those goals didn't come from laziness, so your "silver plater" isn't right. It's his hard work that gave him those goals, learn to give credit to who deserve it. Can u say Azplicueta's goals was on a silver plater?
RichardCfC
0
So u think if u are not clever, you can capitalize on mistakes? Think well mate!
Are you serious hahaha, dude both chances were presented to him on a silver plater... And people why arsenal's standards have dropped... Mate raise the standards, nketiah is a relegation team striker
the_Profe55or
0
Nketiah actually needs to bulk up a bit for more strength and stamina,.. he'll definitely trouble defenders! ☝️😎
xanta
0
So u think if u are not clever, you can capitalize on mistakes? Think well mate!
he's right bro we can't aim for the top with nketiah but u have a point as well... sometimes it a person's presence can cause others to make mistakes
xanta
2
The only problem with Nketiah is his height. You want your striker to score few headers sometimes.
Eddie height is actually ok, my problem with him was his physique (weight) he fall at the slightest contact ( he's improved on that though), and his decision ( earlier...he was a little selfish and had terrible decision making 😑) but generally he's improved a lot
LennLunkim
5
The only problem with Nketiah is his height. You want your striker to score few headers sometimes.
Atsad
0
Wahahahaha you do realize both of his goals are down to comedic mistakes... The delusion is unreal
So u think if u are not clever, you can capitalize on mistakes? Think well mate!
RichardCfC
0
Nketiah needs to be given the first start at all the remaining games because he can score goals he is guick clever in the box
Wahahahaha you do realize both of his goals are down to comedic mistakes... The delusion is unreal
Cukekprtu
0
voselmnosu
1
Nketiah needs to be given the first start at all the remaining games because he can score goals he is guick clever in the box