Eddie Nketiah now told what he must to do become ‘a great’ at Arsenal

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Former Manchester United star Owen Hargreaves has urged Eddie Nketiah to accept a rotational role at Arsenal.

Eddie Nketiah had a good weekend. On Saturday, starting against Sheffield United in place of the injured Gabriel Jesus, the Arsenal striker bagged his first ever Premier League hat trick.

His treble against the Blades took his tally for the season to five strikes. Overall, Nketiah has now scored 37 goals for the north London club across all competitions in 145 appearances.

The Hale End academy graduate has never been the established first choice striker at the club. The likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, and Jesus, amongst others, have all been considered more senior to him in the pecking order.

It could be argued, that for the good of his career, Nketiah would be wise to seek a move away from the Emirates Stadium at some point to a club where he would be the main man.

However, Owen Hargreaves has warned the once-capped England man against making such a move. 

Owen Hargreaves tells Eddie Nketiah to chase Arsenal legend status

Speaking to Premier League Productions (30/10/23, 14:50), the former midfielder said, “the young kids, they all want everything. They think they can be the guy and I respect that.”

“But you could stay there and just be a great squad player for a decade. Score 200 goals. Win everything, rather than go and be the main guy at wherever that is Palace or Everton…better off sitting still.”

Nketiah will still believe that he has what it takes to make himself an established first choice starter at Arsenal. Nketiah has even been backed to reach “Ian Wright-like” levels. He also clearly has the trust of Mikel Arteta, which is hugely important to his prospects of getting regular game time.

However, if he does end up spending his career as a squad player, he can still make a huge contribution to the club. With the hectic nature of the fixture schedule, regular squad rotation is now normal, meaning he will get plenty of opportunities to shine, too.

If Nketiah were to go on and get anywhere in the vicinity of two-hundred goals for the club he would undoubtedly establish himself as an Arsenal legend.