Nketiah is now expected to start as the number nine in the wake of Gabriel Jesus now being a late doubt with a knee injury.
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The England striker endured a really poor performance against Fulham last time out, but there’s still plenty who believe in his qualities – with Mikel Arteta clearly being one of them.
And quite pertinently, Tony Cascarino was discussing Nketiah’s struggles on talkSPORT this morning.
The pundit was speaking before Jesus’ injury news was shared and actually thought the Brazilian could form a good duo with Nketiah.
Although that may now not be possible, Cascarino certainly had an interesting theory on how the Nketiah’s fortunes could improve at Arsenal ahead of today’s Liverpool match.
He said: “Eddie Nketiah, I really like. I’ve said to Natalie numerous times. It does feel like he’s a player who should be playing alongside a centre-forward with stature because he’s not a leader of the line.
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“But he’s a very sharp, good finisher, whereas Gabriel Jesus is versatile and plays different positions, does a lot of unselfish work.
“I mean it’s obvious that they haven’t got enough goals there but is there a solution with what Arsenal have got this season to be able to keep this challenge up?”
Pundit thinks Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah needs help up top ahead of Liverpool match
Of course, this change would see a significant adjustment to Mikel Arteta’s system at Arsenal.
Kai Havertz has an advanced position in the number eight but has far more structural responsibility than a striker.
Perhaps when fit Jesus could be the man to often drop deep as Cascarino suggests.
However, it seems the reality is that Arsenal simply just need a striker who can play the number nine alone.
Jesus has so many good qualities – there’s no question over his position in the squad.
However, Arteta could probably benefit from an upgrade on Nketiah, who now has a £30m asking price in January.
Today’s game against Liverpool is a huge opportunity for Nketiah to stake his claim at Arsenal, but perhaps it may already be too late.
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