Emile Smith Rowe and Joe Willock react as Eddie Nketiah finally breaks unwanted record after Arsenal transfer

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Former Arsenal star Eddie Nketiah has faced a tough spell at Crystal Palace ever since making the transfer last summer.

The striker was struggling for game time under Mikel Arteta, despite showing some promising signs when it came to finding the back of the net.

That led to plenty of talk surrounding an exit, which eventually went through in the summer, with Eddie Nketiah joining Crystal Palace for a fee worth up to £30million.

With Arsenal struggling for striker options this season, many may wonder what could’ve been had he stayed.

However, his own struggles with putting the ball in the back of the net have been clear but finally ended in midweek.

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Stars react as Eddie Nketiah breaks goalscoring duck for Crystal Palace

Nketiah was known for being a bit of a poacher in the box, finding the back of the net with some clinical opportunities.

While the forward has picked up some goals in cup competitions, he was facing a bit of a dry spell of form in front of goal in the Premier League.

The impact of Jean-Philippe Mateta hasn’t helped his ability to gain consistent minutes, only making it tougher to break that duck.

Nketiah finally put an end to that wait though as he scored the final goal in Crystal Palace’s 4-1 thrashing of Aston Villa.

That was his first for the Eagles in his 19th Premier League appearance for the club, while it ended a long wait for the striker himself.

The last goal Nketiah scored in the competition was in October 2023, bagging a hat-trick against Sheffield United.

Taking to social media, the striker posted an image of the celebrations with the caption: “All in God’s timing.”

There was plenty of love shown in the comments, not least from some of his former teammates from the Hale End academy.

Emile Smith Rowe commented: “The truth!!” while Joe Willock said: “My boyyyy.”

It shows how happy everyone is to finally see Nketiah back on the scoresheet once again, where he will now be looking to add even more goals to his game.

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What Eddie Nketiah said about finally scoring for Crystal Palace

With that record now lifted, Nketiah can concentrate on building some much-needed form to end the season with Crystal Palace.

While it was a slow start for his side, as well as himself, some recent victories and impressive performances have kept them clear of relegation.

Speaking to the official club website on his first league goal for the club, Nketiah said: “It’s nice to get the win and get my first one in the Premier League [for Crystal Palace].

“It’s a good feeling, and nice to obviously share that moment with my family and friends and teammates, so I’m really delighted.

“[Oliver Glasner said] at half-time to keep going. Obviously, we had moments, obviously slight tactical tweaks we had to make, but yeah, it was really just to be decisive and ruthless in the boxes.

“I think we defended really well at most times and limited them, but we had chances we didn’t probably take in the first-half.

“I thought it was a good performance, first- and second-half. Obviously, we reacted really well when they [Aston Villa] did score, but I think it was a really dominant performance.

“Obviously, we missed a few chances in the first-half, but we were really clinical in the second-half. It was just about being clinical in the second half – and we were able to do that.”

The clinical nature was something Nketiah was known for at Arsenal and it’s a reputation he will be looking to build again at Crystal Palace.