Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton believes there is plenty more to come from Eddie Nketiah at Arsenal.
Eddie Nketiah scored his first ever Premier League hat trick on Saturday as Arsenal thrashed Sheffield United 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
The 24-year-old has had his critics in the past, and he was able to answer some of them with his superlative performance against the Blades.
However, Nketiah is not yet the finished article. The £100,000-a-week ace needs to build on this performance, and show that he can impress on a consistent basis and pose a threat when tasked with leading the line against more fearsome opposition.
There are certainly questions marks around just how good Nketiah can become. Mikel Arteta has huge faith in the once-capped England international. Speaking after the win over Sheffield United, the Spanish coach said, “to me he is top level,” as quoted by the club’s official website.
Is the best of Eddie Nketiah yet to come?
Arteta backed up his words about Nketiah with action in the recent summer transfer window, when Folarin Balogun was also on the books at the Emirates Stadium. There was not room for both strikers in the squad and funds needed to be raised. Despite his stock being high, having just enjoyed a prolific loan spell, Balogun was the man to be moved on. Nketiah was kept because Arteta believes in him. That faith is now beginning to be repaid.
Whilst not everyone rates Nketiah so highly, Chris Sutton believes that the player deserves more time to reach his potential. Speaking on The Monday Night Club podcast, Sutton said, “I don’t think we should write him off, as a 24-year-old who has so much talent. I still think he has work to do, and I think he needs to become horrible.”
Not all players develop at the same rate. Didier Drogba and Jamie Vardy are good examples of supremely successful Premier League strikers who might be considered late-bloomers. Nketiah could be another to fall into this category.
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