Arteta told Hale End talent would ‘score more’ than his £45m favourite at Arsenal

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Iconic former striker Ally McCoist has had his say on Arsenal strikers Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah.

As things stand at Arsenal, Gabriel Jesus is undoubtedly ahead of Eddie Nketiah in the pecking order.

The Brazilian is an excellent player, and is held in extremely high regard by Mikel Arteta. The Spanish coach stated that Jesus changed Arsenal’s world, shortly after his £45 million arrival from Manchester City in the summer of 2022.

What the 26-year-old brings to the Emirates Stadium is obvious. His flair, dynamism, physicality in holding up the ball, and technical ability in the link up play, all serves to raise the level of the Gunners’ attacking contingent as a whole.

However, there are flaws in Jesus’ game. He has been criticised for not being prolific enough in the past. He also recently admitted that he does not consider goalscoring to be one of his strengths. The stats bear this out. Since his arrival at the north London club, across all competitions, he has netted 17 times in 49 appearances. This represents a decent return, but is far from elite. So far this season, he has scored just twice in 11 Premier League outings.

Does Eddie Nketiah have more to offer Arsenal than Gabriel Jesus?

Nketiah, on the other hand, is perhaps a more natural finisher. The Hale End academy graduate does not have Jesus’ all-round game. He does not improve those around him in the same way. He can find the back of the net if given chances, though.

The 24-year-old has scored 5 goals in 15 Premier League appearances this season, including a sensational hat-trick against Sheffield United. It is also worth noting that only nine of those top flight outings have come as a starter.

Ally McCoist believes that Nketiah could bring a cutting edge to Arteta’s side that Jesus has struggled to provide. As quoted by inews, the Scot said, “I actually think if Nketiah got a run he might score more goals than Jesus.”

“I’m not saying he’s a better player than Jesus as I don’t necessarily think he is but he might nick more goals.”

Arsenal were in desperate need of a goal against Aston Villa last time out, having spurned chances throughout the game. Jesus himself was guilty of this profligacy. However, Arteta only elected to introduce Nketiah into the fray with around ten minutes to go.

Equally, when the Gunners were in search of a goal against Luton Town, the once-capped England man didn’t make it onto the pitch at all. Perhaps this suggests that the manager lacks faith in Nketiah’s ability to impact matches. This would not be surprising, as the striker has a poor record of scoring as a substitute.

The issues presented by both Jesus and Nketiah would explain why Arsenal appear to be on the hunt for a new striker.