Arsenal had to sell one or two of their prized Hale End Academy products in the summer – players who weren’t quite getting the chances their talent deserves.
Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar – whilst he was still at Arsenal, made some tough decisions but ultimately it seems as if the club were right to part with all of Aaron Ramsdale, Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah.
Ramsdale wasn’t an academy product at Arsenal, but he still felt like part of the furniture at the Emirates Stadium, a goalkeeper who improved so much under Arteta.
On Smith Rowe’s part, Arsenal may still regret the circumstances that led to his move to Fulham, even if it was eventually the right decision.
Smith Rowe is thriving at Craven Cottage alongside the likes of Alex Iwobi and Reiss Nelson, who joined him in west London on a season-long loan.
Eddie Nketiah struggling to score since he left Arsenal for Crystal Palace
That being said, there’s very little suggestion that Arsenal made a mistake in allowing Nketiah to leave for Palace.
Arsenal recouped £30m for the striker in the summer, who scored 38 goals in 163 appearances in north London.
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Perhaps some may be surprised by those relatively disappointing numbers, but it has to be remembered that he was often used as a substitute by Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery and Arteta.
Unfortunately, Nketiah is now playing a similar role at Palace, even if Oliver Glasner originally handed him a starting role at Selhurst Park.
The striker is now often on the bench owing to Jean-Philippe Mateta’s prowess in front of goal.
And after failing to score against Manchester City in a 13 minute cameo for Palace in their recent 2-2 draw, Nketiah has now gone 27 Premier League games without a goal.
Why did Eddie Nketiah leave Arsenal?
Speaking to the Independent back in October, Nketiah explained his decision to leave Arsenal for Palace, excited to start a new challenge.
Nketiah has scored his first Palace goal, however it came in the EFL Cup, a strike the forward will be keen to add to as soon as possible.
Explaining the motivation behind his move, Nketiah said: “I have a real belief in myself as a player, and I think I just needed to go somewhere I felt I would have opportunities to be on the pitch and improve,” said Nketiah.
“I know it’s not always going to click straight away, but everyone needs a platform to progress, trial and error on the pitch to learn. That was the main reason behind leaving Arsenal.
“Obviously Arsenal are challenging for the league and Palace will be in a different situation, but we’ve got a lot of talented players and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t have aspirations to keep climbing up the table.
“I think it’s a great project here. It’s a different project, but it’s definitely a great project that will allow me a platform to showcase my talents.”
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