“Disappointed”:Joe Cole says £100k-a-week Arsenal man was ‘disappointed’ despite Bodo/Glimt win
Joe Cole has told BT Sport that Gunners forward Eddie Nketiah looked “disappointed” when substituted on 82 minutes despite scoring as Arsenal cruised past Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League – even though the Englishman scored for the Gunners.
Nketiah, 23, netted his second goal of the season in what was only his second start of the campaign. Indeed, Nketiah has only started in the Europa League so far – instead, making substitute appearances in all of Arsenal’s league games.
Following up and reacting first after Kieran Tierney’s shot thundered back off the post, Nketiah was on hand to finish into an empty net. It was his 25th senior goal for the Gunners, in 102 appearances. But he could have had more.
Indeed, Nketiah was played through on goal in the second half to double his tally for the night. But the ex-England Under-21 star blazed an effort into the Emirates crowd. Cole said he looked “disappointed”, but praised him for that.
“He knows where the goal is. But what I loved that when he came off, he was disappointed. He is vocal, you can hear him saying he wants more minutes. He could’ve been happy with his performance, got a goal, but he wants more.”
COLE: NKETIAH LOOKED DISAPPOINTED DESPITE SCORING FOR ARSENAL
Nketiah knows he has limited game time to show Mikel Arteta that he can be trusted in the Premier League. Last season, he showed that, with braces against the likes of Chelsea and Leeds. But Gabriel Jesus is first choice, now.
Last season, £100k-a-week Nketiah complained about game time and rightly so. Alexandre Lacazette was struggling. But this season, he can hardly argue with being second choice to Brazil star Jesus – who is shining for the Gunners.
So, Nketiah knows his game time is limited to sub appearances in the league, and Europa League starts. He knows he has got to take his chances when they come around – and that is why, he will be disappointed to only score once.
