Nketiah arrived at Palace too late to play away at Chelsea, a game he would have relished during his time at Arsenal.
Of course, Nketiah then had to wait during the international break, time he would have spent familiarising himself with Oliver Glasner’s ideas and his new club as a whole.
Nketiah only had one brief spell away from the Emirates on loan, a period with Leeds United in which didn’t play much of a role.
Therefore, it’s a big step in Nketiah’s career, a striker who still has so much to offer and one who will perhaps be targeting an England recall.
Eddie Nketiah told he’ll do ‘really well’ for Crystal Palace after Arsenal exit
Speaking on Match of the Day, both Gary Lineker and Danny Murphy reflected on Nketiah’s display, who played the whole 90 minutes.
Nketiah didn’t score in the late 2-2 comeback, one led by Jean-Phillipe Mateta, but he was impressive throughout.
Eddie Nketiah of Crystal Palace during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace FC and Leicester City FC at Selhurst Park on September 14, 2...
Starting the chat, Lineker said: “Eddie Nketiah made his first start didn’t he for Palace, he looked lively.”
Murphy replied: “He did look sharp, it was a good game actually, and I thought the way he set him up surprised me, he played a front three – with Mateta at the tip of it, Eze to the left and Nketiah to the right, and he had good freedom.
“And although they haven’t had a win yet Palace, it’s exciting with these three, they pop up on different areas of the pitch.
“We’ve seen Eze’s quality and Mateta, we now know what he does well, but Nketiah, we only saw glimpses really at Arsenal, but he wants to get in there [into the box], he’s got good feet, he came and got onto the ball, he demanded it, I think he’s going to do really well for them.”
Raheem Sterling set for North London derby debut
Of course, Nketiah’s £25m exit partly paved the way for Raheem Sterling to arrive on deadline day.
Sterling has been electric in Arsenal training over the break, burning Ben White in the latest video that the club uploaded.
Reiss Nelson’s loan move to join Emile Smith Rowe at Fulham was also crucial to the deal – a player who may not necessarily have a permanent Arsenal future.
And all in all, it’s hard not to conclude that Arsenal made the right decision offloading the likes of Nketiah, Smith Rowe and Nelson, even if they were incredibly popular.
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