Eddie Nketiah's status as a senior player at Arsenal hasn't always been secure, but the striker has got to where he is through hard work - even when Mikel Arteta wasn't sure about him.
When Arteta took over in North London in December 2019, Nketiah was out on loan at Leeds. The striker, who was 20 at the time, had scored twice on his Gunners debut as a teenager under Arsene Wenger before being sent to Elland Road for regular minutes after Unai Emery had taken a look at him for a year.
Those minutes weren't forthcoming under Marcelo Bielsa, though it was through no real fault of his own. Patrick Bamford was undroppable as Leeds started strongly, eventually securing promotion, and Nketiah's five goals in 19 appearances look better when presented as five goals in 664 minutes.
Nketiah was brought back to the Emirates Stadium in early January, just before Arsenal claimed a narrow victory over Leeds in the FA Cup (though he wasn't involved in that game). The plan was to send him out on loan again, with plenty of interest from elsewhere in the Championship, but Nketiah made sure there would be no need.
According to reports at the time from The Athletic, Nketiah won over Arteta after not being able to convince predecessor Emery. A loan move (most likely to Bristol City) was shelved, and the striker stuck around.
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It helped that Arteta's hand was forced a little by a three-match ban for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and a dry spell in front of goal for Alexandre Lacazette. Nketiah remained patient, starting on the bench to begin with, but was eventually rewarded with a run of games as Arteta enjoyed a relative free hit either side of the Covid-enforced break in the season.
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Eddie Nketiah has grown into an important player for Arsenal (VINCE MIGNOTT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)When Aubameyang was sent off against Palace in January 2020, Arteta was asked whether that could prompt him to bring Nketiah into the team sooner. He insisted patience was the way forward, though.
"It didn't before and at the moment I think we have to think medium to long term with Eddie," the manager said. "We have to respect his evolution, his development, and we don't have to make decisions just based on two or three games."
Nketiah had scored his first Premier League goal at the end of the 2018-19 season and added two more in the following campaign. The first was an equaliser as Arteta's team came from behind to beat Everton, while the second was a go-ahead goal in a win against Southampton at St Mary's.
He also played his part in the run to FA Cup glory. While he didn't score in the final, only making a late cameo to protect Arsenal's lead against Chelsea at Wembley, his goals in the fourth and fifth rounds helped lay the foundations for his team to end the season with a trophy.
Nketiah knew by this point that it wouldn't be as easy as simply stepping into the role of senior striker, though. Aubameyang and Lacazette were still at the club, and he was still the junior member of the group.
Just two goals followed in the 2020-21 season, while he spent the first half of the following campaign getting minutes where he could but finding starts tough to come by. A 90-minute run-out in a dismal FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest didn't help his cause, and at that point a summer exit looked like it could be on the cards.
Nketiah had won Arteta over before, though, and knew he could do it again. Aubameyang's mid-season exit opened a door and he stepped through, scoring big doubles against Chelsea and Leeds as the Gunners' pursuit of fourth place ended up falling narrowly short, and earning himself a new long-term contract - not to mention the number 14 shirt made famous by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry and worn by Aubameyang for his own Golden Boot season.
Nketiah scored his first Premier League hat-trick this season (Dave Shopland/REX/Shutterstock)Despite the new deal, the story remains the same... up to a point. Arteta still felt the need to bring in a new senior number nine, with Gabriel Jesus stepping into Lacazette's shoes when the Frenchman returned to Lyon, but Nketiah is now clearly a senior option rather than a stopgap.
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Arteta's faith has been rewarded on plenty of occasions. First through big goals last season, including a last-gasp winner against Manchester United, and then through a first Premier League hat-trick as the Gunners beat Sheffield United this term... with a senior England debut in between.
“I’m really happy for him, an academy player, to experience in the Premier League a hat-trick," Arteta said after that treble. "He needs to enjoy the moment. He fully deserves it and hopefully there are many more to come.
"He’s got an eye for goal. You look at his stats from the last 10 years. What he’s done is remarkable. He needs minutes, opportunities and service. If he gets that, Eddie is going to score goals, that’s for sure. He’s a great player for Arsenal.
"He can be better, yes. And the best thing is the talent that he’s got, but especially his mentality is incredible. When he has that mentality with that talent, he’s going to get much better."
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