‘Has not changed my view, He’s a Championship player’: BBC pundit still isn’t convinced by 24-year-old Arsenal player despite what He did against Sheffield
Pundit Garth Crooks claims that Saturday’s hat-trick against Sheffield United has not changed his opinion of Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah.
Arsenal hitman Eddie Nketiah still has a long way to go before proving he can be a top striker for the Gunners.
That is the verdict of pundit Garth Crooks, who included Nketiah in his Team of the Week for BBC Sport.
Nketiah was impossible to ignore this weekend, smashing a hat-trick against Sheffield United.
Two close-range finishes and a thunderous strike handed Nketiah his first Premier League hat-trick as Arsenal racked up a 5-0 win.
Garth Crooks comments on Eddie Nketiah after Arsenal hat-trick
Pundit Crooks has named his Team of the Week and selected Nketiah in attack alongside Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah.
That is esteemed company for Nketiah be in, but Crooks was at pains to calm the hype.
Crooks noted that he highlighted Arsenal’s lack of a clinical striker last week, believing it will prevent them from pipping Manchester City to the Premier League title.
Nketiah may have scored three times against Sheffield United but Crooks claims he has ‘not changed’ his view at all.
Crooks is waiting to see Nketiah score goals against the likes of Liverpool, City or Tottenham Hotspur before abandoning his concerns about the Arsenal attack.
“Having had two challenging away games in a week – at Chelsea in the Premier League and Sevilla in the Champions League – Arsenal were fortunate on Saturday to face a Sheffield United side ravaged by injury and lacking in know-how. Eddie Nketiah stepped in for the injured Gabriel Jesus and grabbed himself an impressive hat-trick,” said Crooks.
“Last week I raised the issue around the Gunners requiring a clinical striker if they are serious about stealing the title from Manchester City. Nketiah’s hat-trick has not changed my view, although his third goal was a fabulous strike. If he were to score three goals against Liverpool, Manchester City or Spurs, I might be forced to reconsider my position,” he added.
My view: Nketiah has a chance to end Ivan Toney rumours
Crooks is somewhat justified here; Nketiah has never scored more than five Premier League goals in a season for Arsenal.
The 24-year-old has now reached five for this season and will surely go past that mark very soon.
The injury to Gabriel Jesus now gives Nketiah a chance to play regularly and he will be looking to prove his doubters wrong.
Nketiah will have noticed the rumours linking Brentford striker Ivan Toney with a big January move to the Emirates Stadium.
The January window is still a while away though and Nketiah now has a chance to prove that he can score regularly for Arsenal – and force Edu and Arteta to abandon any Toney move.
