Walcott unhappy with Arsenal’s treatment of Nketiah “should have happened earlier”

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·07 de outubro de 2024

Walcott unhappy with Arsenal’s treatment of Nketiah “should have happened earlier”

Does Mikel Arteta and his technical bench deserve criticism for holding Eddie Nketiah for too long at Emirates Stadium when they could have let him go sooner? Theo Walcott insinuates that Arsenal were unfair to the Englishman and hampered his growth when they could have released him early.

In the summer of 2023, Arsenal had the option to release Nketiah or Flo Balogun (or even both given Kai Havertz’s signing), but they chose not to let Eddie leave. He was clearly not a key figure in Arteta’s plans for the 2023-24 season, as evidenced by the fact that he only started 10 league games, with the remaining 17 being substituted.

Vídeos OneFootball

His 1072 minutes of Premier League action, averaging 40 minutes per match, were clearly insufficient. It wasn’t enough for a player who had dreams of becoming a main man; that was just disappointing.

Many will agree the Hale End star has always shown great promise, so it was frustrating to see him overlooked when a player like Gabriel Jesus wasn’t that much better. Nketiah is still establishing himself at Crystal Palace; he has only scored once in five games, but his impact on the team, which hasn’t had the best start to the season, is evident.

According to the Mirror, Walcott asserts that Nketiah ought to have departed from Arsenal sooner and that sooner or later he’ll prove his quality at Selhurst Park. “It was a move that probably should have happened earlier,” the ex-Gunners’ winger declared. “It is a move which can go well, and Palace is a good football club. In time, he will be a good signing for Palace.”

Nketiah has clearly demonstrated potential; he shattered every academy record and is also England U-21’s record goalscorer with 16 goals. It’s terrible that he never quite made it at Arsenal; Walcott has a point; he should have left as early as the summer of 2023, when Kai Havertz entered.

In any case, I hope he shines at Palace and performs well enough to be considered for the England Three Lions. we can only wish him well in his future career…

Darren N

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