Danny Murphy has claimed on talkSPORT that Arsenal star Eddie Nketiah is much more of a goalscorer than their summer signing, Gabriel Jesus.
Mikel Arteta convinced the Brazilian to leave Manchester City for the Gunners in the summer. He has been magnificent in the red and white, and he’s one of the biggest reasons why Arsenal are on top of the Premier League table.
Jesus, sadly, is injured now, and that opens the door for Nketiah to shine.
Pundit thinks Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah is a better goalscorer than Gabriel Jesus
A report from Goal Brazil revealed earlier this month that Jesus is expected to spend about three months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on his knee.
That is a massive blow for Arsenal, who are now reliant on Nketiah to do Jesus’ job week in, week out, as the Gunners battle to maintain their five-point lead over Manchester City.
Arsenal fans are worried about how the 23-year-old Englishman will fare in the coming weeks, but Murphy isn’t really concerned. He feels Nketiah will score if he gets the chance and even went on to claim that he’s a better goalscorer than Jesus.
The pundit said: “Arguably, if Nketiah comes in, he’s a different type of player but he’ll score more goals, he’s more of a goalscorer. But he doesn’t have the other attributes that Jesus has got.
“But if you want someone to run about a lot and press and do all that, Nketiah can do that.”
Nketiah is yet to start a single game in the Premier League this season, but he’s almost guaranteed to get the nod against West Ham United on Boxing Day.
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Nketiah was questioned towards the end of last season as well – when Alexandre Lacazette lost his shooting boots at Arsenal.
The 23-year-old stepped up then, scoring five goals in the Gunners’ final seven league games – including a fantastic brace against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a 4-2 win.
Nketiah is definitely not on Jesus’ level yet, but he’s still a very good player. He can cause the opposition defenders all sorts of problems with his pressing and physicality, and Arsenal fans will be hoping he can step up to be their main man until the Brazilian comes back.
It will be interesting to see how Nketiah will fare in the coming weeks – if he does well, Arsenal could go on and achieve something really special this season.
