Nketiah goal gives Arsenal MASSIVE transfer headache

Updated: 12 Aug 2023 14:01 BST
4 min read

Eddie Nketiah's goal against Nottingham Forest gives Mikel Arteta and Arsenal a massive headache, albeit not necessarily a bad one.

The English striker once again showed his scoring expertise when he found the back of the net in the first half of Arsenal's Premier League opener against Nottingham Forest. After a lovely piece of skill by Gabriel Martinelli, Nketiah drove past several defenders and expertly slotted the ball home at the near post.

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Last term, Nketiah scored nine goals in 18 starts, but none as a substitute. With Gabriel Jesus out injured yet again, Nketiah has already added to that tally, but what happens when the Brazilian returns? The €52.2 million man is an automatic starter and while Nketiah's poor record as a substitute is surely just an anomaly, he can't be happy with playing second fiddle.

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At 24, Nketiah is at the peak of his powers and he has repeatedly shown that he can do a job in the Premier League as a starter. New recruit Kai Havertz started in the Community Shield victory over Manchester City, suggesting that Arteta still doesn't trust Nketiah fully and that he could always be relegated to third choice.

With Champions League football coming up, there will be more than enough minutes to go around, so it seems unlikely that Nketiah will request a move to a club where he will start every game, but one player certainly will.

Balogun must leave

That man is Folarin Balogun. Seeing Nketiah perform as well as he has will be the final nail in the coffin of the American's Gunners career. At the moment, Balogun is fourth choice even though he wants to be a starter following his outstanding season with Stade Reims in Ligue 1.

He must leave for the sake of his career and he has no shortage of suitors, but Arsenal must be ready to lower their demands. Their ridiculous asking price has put off many clubs and negotiations over his exit have seemingly reached an impasse.

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Recent reports suggested that the Gunners have already cut their demands down by €10 million, but they surely must go even lower if they want to get Balogun off the books.